THE “GOOD LIFE”
March 27, 2019
Dear Friends and Colleagues:
When we were kids, we used to play Monopoly and if you were lucky, you could get that ‘Get of jail, free’ card to hold in case you landed on that dreaded square, “Go to jail, do not pass go or collect $200.”
It used to be just a game, but today it seems some folks can get such ‘cards’ in real life while others of us (me, you, maybe?) might find ourselves targets for punishment even though we are innocent. If you happen to assist the wrong candidate seek election, you might even get visited before the crack of dawn by a couple of dozen federal agents, wearing body armor and with guns drawn, ready to toss your bedroom, confiscate your laptop, and slap you in cuffs in a perp walk for the awaiting TV cameras and reporters who just happened to be in the neighborhood.
But for those with ‘the card,’ 16 felony charges, approved by a grand jury of one’s peers, can be wiped clean, records sealed, and even though the whole world knows that he/she/it is guilty, can’t be fired by his/her/its employer because the ‘record’ of the 16 felonies is expunged! Wow! How does one get the ‘good life?’
A couple of weeks earlier, the chief of staff of the ex-first lady just happened to call Ms. Foxx, the prosecutor of the Jussie Smollett case, and ‘suggest’ that she turn the case over to the FBI rather than continue the prosecution in Chicago, where the crimes happened. The Chief of Police was properly outraged at the interference, held firm and the case went forward – until yesterday – when, miracle of miracles, all charges were dropped, all records erased and ‘sealed.’ To their credit, both the Mayor (Rahm Emanuel) and the Chief of Police expressed their outrage!
Funny, isn’t it, that the State of Illinois does so much ‘records sealing.’ Think of all of the ex-president’s records – all sealed, forever, on everything, from grades in high school and college, to even his election ‘victory’ to the Illinois State legislature. Hmmm, maybe this ‘sealing’ stuff is just another kind of ‘Get of jail free’ card – only available to a select few chosen by… by whom, exactly?
Just wonderin’. How ‘bout you?
But I’m more deeply troubled about what has happened to our system of jurisprudence. The goddess Themis holds the scale of justice blindfolded so that she cannot see who is being tried. That’s the way it should be. Who knew?
Old Frank