Yeah, not getting many details from that article, but is the judge in any way obligated to turn this guy over? Most especially if they have no warrants? It sounds like she didn’t even know that ICE was there until the defense attorney told her.
Ok, perhaps they got her for turning off the recorder, if that is indeed a no-no (sounds more like a courtroom rule rather then a law). But I’m thinking this is just a harassment charge, serving notice to other judges/officials that may try the same.
Unless a valid warrant was provided to the Court by the ICE agent which required the court to detail “AS”, this case is going nowhere – its just harrassment.
The case reminds me of one of Abraham Lincoln’s anecdotes about the case of Melissa Goings. It’s one of the scenes in Spielberg’s Lincoln film (which I love and could watch over and over), but it’s pretty well documented too. The following is borrowed from Slate:
Another story Lincoln recounts is the tale of 70-year-old Illinois woman Melissa Goings, who allegedly murdered her husband. Lincoln suggests he aided in Goings’ escape from the law. This story, too, is taken almost verbatim from historical accounts:
Testimony indicated he was choking her and she broke loose, got a stick of stove wood, and fractured his skull. The dead man had a name for quarreling and hard drinking and his last words were, “I expect she has killed me. If I get over it I will have revenge.” … Public feeling ran overwhelmingly in her favor. Indications were that Lincoln held a conference with the prosecuting attorney, and that on the day set for trial Mrs. Goings was granted time for a short conference with her lawyer, Mr. Lincoln [and] was never again seen … A court bailiff, Robert T. Cassell, later said that when he couldn’t produce the defendant for trial he accused Lincoln of “running her off.” Lincoln replied, “Oh no, Bob. I did not run her off. She wanted to know where she could get a good drink of water, and I told her there was mighty good water in Tennessee.
Their hearts were in the right place but…the ol’ rule of law thingy. Even though we have a President and a Cabinet, oh hell, an entire REPUBLICAN party that thumbs their nose at it…we kind of have to adhere to it…ESPECIALLY ‘officers of the Court’.
If only Jeffrey Epstein had done something as serious as helping an undocumented alien, or smoking a joint instead of raping and trafficking in underage girls, then we could have really nailed him.
I love that movie so much. Another thing Lincoln says that I think is so true is “time is a great thickener of things.”
God I love that movie. I love it when he explains why he needs the 13th amendment to his cabinet. It’s a perfect vignette about how this government is supposed to work.
I feel bad for Lelling, the USA, because as far as I know he’s pretty down-the-line. But given the clowns who are his bosses, I’ve got to wonder how he can spout this guff.
Further thought: Got to wonder if they can find a Boston jury that will convict them.
Seriously, just replace that AG with any member of congress referring to anyone who works in this maladministration, then send the AG to indict and arrest their asses. WTAF.
Exactly what I was thinking and got back in to say. Very much the same mentality behind the Fugitive Slave Act and also consistent with the other unnerving signs that ICE is increasingly being deployed against citizens who oppose government policy.