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ChornWork2 t1_iy55wsr wrote

Reply to comment by stewartm0205 in A Rikers Officer Had Sex With a Detainee. It Took 7 Years to Fire Him. by marshall_project

Yes, it is a Federal Crime even if not a crime under state law. Certainly in NY, inmates cannot legally consent to sexual relations with prison guards.

Apparently this guy was investigated (as part of the investigation that led to the conviction of his buddy), but the grand jury failed to indict this PoS. Which goes to another major issue in our justice system -- grand juries being used to whitewash crimes of police officers and others. If you look at indictment rates in general, they are almost a foregone conclusion (the old ham sandwich trope). However, if it is a cop or similar accused, they are much lower... the reason is obvious, prosecutors are dependent on cooperation of police to secure convictions in cases as a general matter and they appear to not want to risk that by going after cops. The grand jury is the most opportune time for them to throw in the towel, because the hearings are in secret and they can 'blame' the grand jury for not wanting to move ahead. No better example of that than here in NYC with the killing of Eric Garner by an NYPD officer.

>Grand Juries Should Not Hear Police Misconduct Cases: Grand Juries will Indict Anything, but a Police Officer

https://scholarship.law.slu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1076&context=lawjournalonline

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stewartm0205 t1_iy9sa9w wrote

I believe in the grand jury system even for cops. Grand Juries members could be more active though and don’t let the ADA lead them around.

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ChornWork2 t1_iy9tbjs wrote

For everyone other than cops, they're a formality. For cops, they're a corrupt opt-out by prosecutors who are afraid to piss off cops.

Could there be a better system that still involves grand juries? Sure, but as-is we're better off without them imho.

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stewartm0205 t1_iy9zizc wrote

Don’t they usually appoint a special prosecutor when cops are involved?

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