It wouldn’t be fair to have your felony conviction negatively impact your opportunities. This is how justice works right?

  • Furbag@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    Justice DENIED. AGAIN.

    There’s no impropriety about sending a convicted felon to prison just before an election. He has already been convicted. The fact that he is the nominee is irrelevant. RNC should have thought about that before they picked a guy they knew would likely end up behind bars for all the criminal acts he committed.

    Now Trump will say he “won” the case, just like he did with the classified documents case. Corrupt judges all the way down.

  • ChihuahuaOfDoom@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    This is an astounding level of bullshit even from a country that gives its full throated support to anyone with a net worth in the 7 figures or greater.

  • anon6789@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    This isn’t a verdict, it is sentencing. He has already been found guilty. If the sentence matches what others have gotten for the same crimes, there is no bias.

    By failing to do so, he has at best delayed justice, and if Trump should win, has essentially nullified the jury’s verdict.

    This feels reminiscent of Camu’s “The Guest.” The judge was given a job to do, and by waiting until the hard decision solves itself without his involvement, now all sides will feel this judge is a traitor.

    • jordanlund@lemmy.worldM
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      4 months ago

      I think the idea is that on sentencing they’re just going to take him into custody so they don’t want to give him the “election interference!” out.

      • anon6789@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        I thought general consensus is he isn’t realistically looking at jail time for this?

        I don’t ever expect him to actually be held accountable, sadly. I just want to see the justice system actually functioning in a way that protects this country as a whole. Trump did a ton of damage personally to this country, but to see the entire court system, the only thing we have to stave off change through less civil means, is a pure joke is the greater tragedy for me.

        We could always theorize the laws and voting and our representatives would prevent something like this former presidency from ruining our country, but what have we seen but paper tigers?

        • yeather@lemmy.ca
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          4 months ago

          I think his crimes hold a maximum of 4 years in prison. But not a single person charged for them the first time has gotten prison time and usually get probabtion and a fine.

          • anon6789@lemmy.world
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            4 months ago

            You’re correct on all those points.

            The take by the legal experts back while the trial was ongoing all said with no priors and it being nonviolent crime that none of them expected him to see prison.

            But if we never get him convicted of any crimes, it won’t matter very much.

            • snooggums@midwest.social
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              4 months ago

              But if we never get him convicted of any crimes, it won’t matter very much.

              Texhnicslly, if we never see him sentenced for his convictions it won’t matter. He has 34 convictions.

              • anon6789@lemmy.world
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                4 months ago

                If there’s no sentence, was there a point to a trial?

                This whole circus is held up on the fact the Supreme Court is entertaining the idea that any of the things he’s charged with (or convicted of) can pass as him doing the job he was elected to do.

                If he wins, this sentencing date will never come, and neither will any of the others. His acts will be officially sanctioned, and the only ones being sentenced will be us.

          • jordanlund@lemmy.worldM
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            4 months ago

            Nobody else has his track record for repeatedly breaking laws though. His organization is criminal. His CFO has already done time twice. So did the lawyer representing him in this literal affair.

            If Michael Cohen did time for the same crimes, Trump will do time for ordering Cohen to commit the crimes.

            Will it be the maximum of 4 years? Likely not. And he’ll do whatever is necessary to not serve the full time, whatever it is.

    • OutsizedWalrus@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      While I am not a defender of Trump, I think this decision is largely reasonable. It’s essentially punting sentencing to the court of public opinion. That’s the ultimate “justice”.

      Here’s the thing, he’s already convicted of the crimes. The voting public knows this. If the voting public still votes him in , they’re essentially saying they’re okay with the crimes he’s committed. You really can’t get a better court of public opinion than a national election like this.

      • anon6789@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        Is that not mob justice?

        Have we not seen the Russian funding of right wing networks and the seizing of disinformation websites this week?

        Not everyone votes or can really give an informed vote.

        If Trump wins, do we accept he’s now unpunishable for his crimes? If the voting majority supported him, do the rest of us suffer his promised revenge on his critics?

        This is why we have a legal system supposedly. We have people who are supposed to enforce laws impartially and in a timely manner. The right to a speedy and fair trial, for both the plaintiffs and defendants. Justice delayed is justice denied.

        I don’t want a bunch of biased legal know nothings determining justice. That’s some warlord stuff.

        Laws are also supposed to protect from the tyranny of the majority as well. It’s also supposed to protect the powerless from overstepping authority, like a rogue president.

        I’m no fan of lawyers, cops, or legislators, but I certainly don’t want to live in a place with no law.

        Unless you forget an /s, I feel this is a bad take.

        • OutsizedWalrus@lemmy.world
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          4 months ago

          No, it’s not mob justice.

          Generally, “unfair justice”, like mob justice is assessed by undue, unjust, or extreme punishment. Lack of punishment is not “unfair justice”. The US goes as fair to explicitly ban “double jeopardy” as it does not want “innocent “ people to face undue hardship.

          In this case, the possible punishment is 100% within the legal system. At worst, trump receives the same punishment as any other criminal convicted of the same crimes. At best, Trump receives a lighter punishment as the result of the election. There is nothing undue or just about a lighter punishment.

          Mob justice is a problem as it doesn’t allow for due process and proper representation. The “convicted” often ends up with non-reversible punishment (like mutilation or death) based on arbitrary “mobs”. Since the only outcome here is a reduced sentence, there isn’t an argument for mob justice.

          TLDR: mob justice and similar “undue trials” really only care about wrongful convictions. Wrongful “not guilty” decision are not a “problem”

          • acockworkorange@mander.xyz
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            4 months ago

            That is absolutely mob justice. You’re outsourcing the decision to the mob. People who aren’t privy to what happened in court, to the evidence, to anything. In fact, you’re disregarding actual justice, that has reached a verdict, and replacing it with the opinion of the ill informed mob. That’s the mobbest justice to ever mob.

      • Vanon@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        What does public opinion have to do with law? That’s not how the justice system works. Convictions mean nothing without sentencing. This only further erodes people’s faith in the system. This decision is nothing but cowardice.

        • octopus_ink@lemmy.ml
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          4 months ago

          This only further erodes people’s faith in the system.

          It’s sure as fuck eroding mine!

        • OutsizedWalrus@lemmy.world
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          4 months ago

          The court system is loosely based on public opinion. Since it’s unreasonable to gather the public’s opinion, a jury is selected to represent “the public”.

          In this case, the election essentially allows you to get the actually public’s opinion. You literally cant get closer to true “court of public opinion” that having a nationwide vote on a recently convicted individual candidacy.

          • Vanon@lemmy.world
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            4 months ago

            That’s a bit of a stretch. A jury adheres closely to the facts, is educated about the relevant subjects, and there are penalties for unreasonable behavior. “Public opinion” does not override anything. It is not okay to break the law just because a cult disagrees or doesn’t care. They can vote for change to the laws, but until they are actually changed everyone must follow them.

  • Nightwingdragon@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    Pathetic.

    I’m stating it right now. I am officially running for President in the 2024, 2028, 2032, and 2036 elections. Therefore, to avoid the appearance of impropriety and not show political bias, the criminal court system cannot send me to jail until after the 2036 election, regardless of what crimes I commit or am convicted of in the mean time. The crimes I commit between now and then are irrelevant. I mean, you can convict me of those crimes if you’d like. You just can’t punish me for it because I’m a Presidential Candidate under the Trump standard set forth by this judge.

    This act of “not showing bias” goes to show the exact bias that the entire court system continues to give to Trump: giving him special privileges that exactly zero other people in this country would have extended to them in the same situation. And in one fell swoop, Merchan shows that he’s absolutely no better than the rest of them; when push comes to shove, every single one of them will go out of their way to avoid holding Trump accountable for anything, all the while wondering why he keeps doing it.

    He’s doing it because it works. He’s doing it because you let him. He’s doing it because you are unwilling to do anything to stop him.

    And he’s going to keep doing it because you continue to let him win. Fuck this judge and fuck every other judge who continues to rule that Trump gets special treatment as if it’s some kind of fucking birthright.

  • Atelopus-zeteki@fedia.io
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    4 months ago

    Merchan has put the onus on the electorate. We, the American electorate must assure that 11/26 comes AND trump the citizen, unemployed by the government in any office, is sentenced for his felonious crime, for which he was convicted in May of 2024. This is the only way in which justice will be served.

    • ganksy@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      This is the right answer. I’m pissed but even more motivated to make the ballot his sentencing.

      • lettruthout@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        Even though the delay itself feels like a crime, I agree that voters giving Republicans a clear trouncing this November will accelerate their irrelevance, and make more severe Trump’s sentence. If clear enough, the entire house of cards could come tumbling down.

        • octopus_ink@lemmy.ml
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          4 months ago

          If clear enough, the entire house of cards could come tumbling down.

          OR, since we’ve once again given special legal protections to the rich and powerful, no matter how repugnant, providing another example of how our justice system works so very differently when you aren’t one of the little guys, Trump gets elected, then there’s the whole “ZOMG but now he’s president-elect” pearl clutching and hand wringing that causes further delays, then he’s inaugurated, and then I eventually get to die of old age with a dictator in charge while watching my country slowly morph into something like a mix of Gilead and the German-occupied former-US from Man in the High Castle.

    • grue@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      Merchan has put the onus on the electorate.

      Yeah, to go to his house with torches and pitchforks and run him out of town on a rail for not doing his goddamn job!

    • CaptDust@sh.itjust.works
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      4 months ago

      I remember this same spiel about Mueller, and the people rebuked trump then, yet still we are here. Again. At least Mueller had a reasonable argument with trump being the sitting president.

    • OutsizedWalrus@lemmy.world
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      And, I think it’s largely a reasonable decision.

      This election is the ultimate court of public opinion.

  • p5yk0t1km1r4ge@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    What a crock of fucking shit. We all knew this was coming. Once again, this little cockroach has escaped the consequences of his actions, and it surprises nobody at this point. Fuck you Merchan, you traitorous fucking coward…

    • Ohmmy@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      This was the expected outcome. There are no consequences for the wealthy and affluent in the US, only for the poor. Look at the 2008 financial collapse, there wasn’t any real jail time for any of those involved but we can’t even begin to cover the number of suicides their actions caused.

  • BigMacHole@lemm.ee
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    4 months ago

    It’s a good thing all he did was be found Guilty of a TON of Felonies and then put Judge Merchan’s daughter in LIFE THREATENING DANGER! It’s a good thing he wasn’t a BLACK MAN selling Cigarettes! That would ACTUALLY be BAD!

  • Kalysta@lemm.ee
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    4 months ago

    That’s bullshit. Sentence the asshole now. He’ll flee the country otherwise

  • don@lemm.ee
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    4 months ago

    Such unmitigated fermented fucking bullshit. The courts are an absolute disgrace.

  • ChonkyOwlbear@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    According to Model Standards for State Trial Courts, 75% of felony dispositions are to be resolved within 90 days, 90% within 180 days, and 98% within 365 days.

    Trump was indicted March 30, 2023 and was arraigned on April 4, 2023. That means we are at 18 months now. With this decision it will be nearly 21 months.