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A Dorn In The Side of Due Process


Stan Kid, Managing Editor of the Tocquevillian Magazine, is also newspaper columnist and police sergeant on Long Island.

Stan Kid
July 19th, 2002

In a stunning display of a well-oiled grasp of the American system of jurisprudence, Inglewood, California Mayor Roosevelt Dorn took a page from New York Senator Hillary Clinton's playbook. Commenting on the videotaped arrest of a young teen by an L.A. County Sheriff on July 6th, Dorn declared, "What I saw was this officer commit a felony assault, assault with a deadly weapon by use of the automobile, battery, child abuse and a violation of this youngster's civil rights." He further stated there was "nothing that could have occurred prior to the videotape being turned on that would justify" police treating the teen in such a fashion.

Allow me to translate that tortured statement for you: "I don't care what facts are discovered by a fair and impartial investigation or what evidence is presented in a court of law, the officer is guilty and any other verdict will be met with a harsh and, possibly, illegal response."

Dorn's comments regarding this case are an ugly echo of those made by Hillary Clinton, half of America's most dysfunctional couple, who inserted herself into the Amadou Diallo case in 1999. Diallo was standing on the front steps of his Bronx apartment house when he was shot and killed by four New York City police officers who mistakenly thought he had pulled a gun on them. Clinton, in her race-baiting zeal to pander to her minority constituency and further her progress toward the White House, labeled the four officers "murderers."

In both cases, the pronouncements were made before one shred of evidence had been presented, before one word of testimony had been uttered at trial. Both men were black and the police officers were white. Not coincidentally, this is clearly the fact that drew the comments of both Clinton and Dorn.

In the Diallo case, all four officers were acquitted after trial, although not in Bronx County, where the shooting took place. Owing, at least in part, to the self-serving declaration of the carpetbagging Clinton, the trial was moved to Albany, as it was deemed impossible to impanel an impartial jury in the Bronx. Clinton has not yet apologized for her slanderous accusations.

Dorn, after meeting with U.S. Representative Maxine Waters and community leaders, offered a sickeningly half-hearted reversal of his earlier condemnation of the officer, saying that, in spite of his personal opinion, the officer has rights which must be respected. "We must see that due process is done," Dorn said. He did not say how this can be accomplished in light of his highly-publicized comments.

The police officer in the Inglewood arrest, through his attorney, has offered an explanation for his actions that is certainly plausible enough to plant the seed of doubt in the minds of those who are capable of objective reasoning. Before the smoke clears over this case, however, this officer will have had his life turned upside down and inside out as racially-motivated opportunists rush to judgment and make every effort to convict him without due process.

During a community forum, Dorn said, "People across the country keep asking, when is the riot going to happen ... That is not part of the agenda."

Dorn's statements have virtually guaranteed that, should the officer be acquitted after trial, riots will indeed be "part of the agenda".

The "Reverends" Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton have arrived on the scene in order to add their shrill voices to the racist chorus in their attempt to preempt the justice system. They will organize marches and protests and demand the blood of the officer. They will ignore due process and the Constitution. They will, of course, be nowhere to be found when the flames consume the city.

Both Dorn and Clinton took a solemn oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States, the same Constitution that guarantees due process of law. And, as Americans, they presumably are aware of the long-held principle of jurisprudence which deems a person innocent until proven guilty. While it can be argued that the likes of Shrieking Al Sharpton and Jumpin' Jesse Jackson are not elected officials and are under no obligation to understand Constitutional rights, for Dorn and Clinton to disregard the foundation of our Nation is utterly unforgivable.

It's entirely possible that the officer involved in the Inglewood arrest will be found guilty after trial. So be it. It's also entirely possible that, when all the facts are presented, all the evidence weighed, he will be acquitted of any wrongdoing. In either case, thanks to the premature, inflammatory comments of Mayor Dorn, it is unlikely he will be tried in Los Angeles County. And, in the case of acquittal, it is equally unlikely that verdict will be accepted as just.

Inasmuch as both Clinton and Dorn have violated the solemn oath they took when elected to their offices and, in doing so have severely jeopardized the Constitutional rights of American citizens, both should now show enough character to resign. Alternatively, the voters should show them the door.

I won't hold my breath in anticipation.

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"... Before the smoke clears over this case, however, this officer will have had his life turned upside down and inside out as racially-motivated opportunists rush to judgment..."



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