A DEFENDANT accused of forcing a prostitute at gunpoint to have sex with him and three other men got lucky, so to speak, last week.
A Philadelphia judge dropped all sex and assault charges at his preliminary hearing.
Municipal Judge Teresa Carr Deni instead held the defendant on the bizarre charge of armed robbery for – get this – “theft of services.”
Unbelievable.
Deni told me she based her decision on the fact that the prostitute consented to have sex with the defendant.
“She consented and she didn’t get paid . . . I thought it was a robbery.”
Full Story: Philadelphia Daily News.
(via Lupa).
October 17, 2007 at 4:24 pm
I’m a regular on a law blog(don’t laugh, lawyers in their free time are hilarious,and I’ve learned a lot about the law by joining in),and most of them realize that the DOJ needs a major overhaul. Most are aware that it shouldn’t stop with the ouster of ‘Berto(‘I don’t remember, can’t recall, and don’t know why I need an attorney’) Gonzales.
Lawyer Dickie Scruggs is being prosecuted for bringing the fraud of State Farm (Katrina victims) to the attention of law enforcement.
“In June, William Acker, a federal judge in Birmingham, Ala., asked the DOJ to bring charges against Scruggs and his law firm for allegedly violating the judge?s protective order over documents in a case relating to Katrina insurance claims. After the DOJ declined, the judge appointed three private attorneys in Birmingham as special prosecutors, who filed criminal charges against Scruggs.
Scruggs ?deliberately set out to disobey and circumvent the injunction by shipping the documents to a third party,? wrote the prosecutors in this court filing. The third party to whom Scruggs allegedly sent documents: Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood, who was also pursuing Katrina-related litigation against the insurers. In this letter, Hood urged the U.S. Attorney to not prosecute Scruggs, calling him ?a confidential informant? for his investigation into the insurance industry.
Scruggs?s lawyers ? led by John Keker at Keker & Van Nest ? argue, among other things, that the injunction contained an exception for discussing the documents with law enforcement. He also says that two of the special prosecutors in the case lack independence because they represent clients engaged in litigation against Scruggs, a view the prosecutors dispute.”
All this for someone attempting to assist the victims of Katrina. Unfortunately, this is the sort of thing that happens quite regularly with the Justice Dept. The victims and whistleblowers get punished.
October 17, 2007 at 9:33 pm
What law blog do you read? Seems like it’s probably a good thing to be reading…
October 18, 2007 at 9:28 pm
I think the relevant fact would be the prostitute’s state of mind during the carnal act. If while fucking she was consenting to being fucked (because she was going to get paid), it doesn’t become rape when she isn’t paid. It’s theft.
In the linked case though, that may or may not be the case with the first guy, but certainly wasn’t for the others. Therefore, it sounds like rape and the DA will appeal.
I don’t understand why the DA didn’t present the second case – in Philly its not like any case goes to the same judge – cases are generally assigned on a fairly random basis.
Certain facts seem missing from the account.