How to get away with murder...

[ZRX61]

Some bloke in the US has just had the charges dropped & been released because the prosecutor was on maternity leave & didn't show up at the Court to present evidence...

[G.P]

That's not how to get away with murder though, thats just the ridiculous legal system you've got.

[ZRX61]

Apparently there are two other cases about to get booted before she comes back to work.

We have a system here where if you get a Performance Award & the cop doesn't show up, it gets dismissed. I had no idea it could apply to murder charges etc
In LA (& probably other large cities) we have a law firm who will represent you for about $200 to get tickets dismissed. What they usually do is have a lawyer show up & ask for an extension...ad nauseum. Eventually the cop doesn't show up at court & at that point it gets dismissed.
This might seem like a lot of work for a lawyer for a mere $200, but they do hundreds of cases a day so are raking it in. I had two tickets dismissed at the local court one day & one more in LA the very next day... but this was the fault of the cops not being very imaginative.. & me being somewhat cunning.
The tickets were:
51 in a 35 (LAPD)
61 in a 45 (LASD)
81 in a 65 (CHP)
All three were 16mph over, what are the odds of that?
I obtained a work order for speedo fault diagnosis & remedy, plus a print out from Chevy stating that speedo inaccuracy could be caused by moisture in the sensor which tied in great with all three being 16 over...
It didn't occur to anyone to question the chances of moisture in the speedo sensor happening in the Mojave Desert...

When I got the work order etc from a mates shop I explained the plan to him & he said there was zero chance of them buying it... "But if you pull this off, you owe me a case of beer"
Couple of days after the tickets disappeared I dropped off the case of beer. He was at lunch, about an hour later I get a call from him that opened with "No fucking way??!!"

[Yambo]

Some bloke in the US has just had the charges dropped & been released because the prosecutor was on maternity leave & didn't show up at the Court to present evidence...

Seriously? There is only one prosecutor?

[JackyJoll]

To be fair, I wouldn’t show up either, were I on maternity leave.

[JamJar]

Some bloke in the US has just had the charges dropped & been released because the prosecutor was on maternity leave & didn't show up at the Court to present evidence...

It's a bit more complicated than that though isn't it. The prosecution failed to turn up on 3 different hearing dates and the man has been recharged anyway.

Why didn't the prosecutor turn up? Because someone assigned the case to her after she had already gone on maternity leave!

[Yorick]

Some bloke in the US has just had the charges dropped & been released because the prosecutor was on maternity leave & didn't show up at the Court to present evidence...

It's a bit more complicated than that though isn't it. The prosecution failed to turn up on 3 different hearing dates and the man has been recharged anyway.

Why didn't the prosecutor turn up? Because someone assigned the case to her after she had already gone on maternity leave!

That's sexist.

[Mussels]

Some bloke in the US has just had the charges dropped & been released because the prosecutor was on maternity leave & didn't show up at the Court to present evidence...

It's a bit more complicated than that though isn't it. The prosecution failed to turn up on 3 different hearing dates and the man has been recharged anyway.

Why didn't the prosecutor turn up? Because someone assigned the case to her after she had already gone on maternity leave!

That's sexist.

Yes, she (or he or they) went on 'Parental Leave'

[JackyJoll]

Yes, she (or he or they) went on 'Parental Leave'

That’s discriminatory against women.

[Gedge]

Apparently there are two other cases about to get booted before she comes back to work.

We have a system here where if you get a Performance Award & the cop doesn't show up, it gets dismissed. I had no idea it could apply to murder charges etc
In LA (& probably other large cities) we have a law firm who will represent you for about $200 to get tickets dismissed. What they usually do is have a lawyer show up & ask for an extension...ad nauseum. Eventually the cop doesn't show up at court & at that point it gets dismissed.
This might seem like a lot of work for a lawyer for a mere $200, but they do hundreds of cases a day so are raking it in. I had two tickets dismissed at the local court one day & one more in LA the very next day... but this was the fault of the cops not being very imaginative.. & me being somewhat cunning.
The tickets were:
51 in a 35 (LAPD)
61 in a 45 (LASD)
81 in a 65 (CHP)
All three were 16mph over, what are the odds of that?
I obtained a work order for speedo fault diagnosis & remedy, plus a print out from Chevy stating that speedo inaccuracy could be caused by moisture in the sensor which tied in great with all three being 16 over...
It didn't occur to anyone to question the chances of moisture in the speedo sensor happening in the Mojave Desert...

When I got the work order etc from a mates shop I explained the plan to him & he said there was zero chance of them buying it... "But if you pull this off, you owe me a case of beer"
Couple of days after the tickets disappeared I dropped off the case of beer. He was at lunch, about an hour later I get a call from him that opened with "No fucking way??!!"

So your cases were dismissed due to being ( deliberately) timed out by your lawyer , so nothing to do with proving Speedo error?? Sounds like you mate did well to get a free case of beer for proving nothing?

[Yambo]

It's a bit more complicated than that though isn't it. The prosecution failed to turn up on 3 different hearing dates and the man has been recharged anyway.

Why didn't the prosecutor turn up? Because someone assigned the case to her after she had already gone on maternity leave!

I'm guessing that murder is so commonplace in America that the state can't be bothered to prosecute. Maybe the perp didn't kill enough people or didn't kill a politician.

[ZRX61]

So your cases were dismissed due to being ( deliberately) timed out by your lawyer , so nothing to do with proving Speedo error?? Sounds like you mate did well to get a free case of beer for proving nothing?

That's the usual plan, but I had evidence to *prove a speedo fault & a work order from the shop... The fact that all three tickets were for 16 over helped. All I needed was a ticket from a Park Ranger to complete the set.

*or at least introduce reasonable doubt.

[slowsider]

Some bloke in the US has just had the charges dropped & been released because the prosecutor was on maternity leave & didn't show up at the Court to present evidence...

That's nothing to what goes on in a province near here...