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PaperclipPerfector  5mo ago (text post)   3658 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for November 26, 2023

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

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I have an old and very good buddy with some extremely unsavory politics that have only gotten worse over the years. This has affected my life/our friendship virtually not at all, but they're about to move back to our hometown because they've just been hired as a da/pd.

I'm frankly unsettled, and looking for advice. They are quite open about their politics - the da/pd's office hired them because of their politics not in spite of them. It's one thing to 'know' the da/pd offices are hiring proud marxists who openly cheer whenever someone white suffers, it's another thing to know your local da/pd offices have just hired your buddy who you know is like that.

Is it weird that my first thought was to move somewhere else? What would you do in my situation?

What would you do in my situation?

If this person's job puts him or her in a position of power and you are that concerned to consider moving away, start creating a dossier of his or hers problematic social media posts. When the time is right, find someone, preferably your friend's boss or boss's boss, and send it to them with written context and a warning it'll go to the media if nothing is done to address those posts. People have lost jobs, public support, or some combination of both for simply liking the "wrong" tweet or posting the "wrong" thing on social media.

they've just been hired as a da/pd.

It seems to me that it might make a huge difference whether he has been hired as a PD or a DA. I can guarantee you that there were more Marxists in the criminal defense bar 40 years ago than there are now.

I'm reluctant to say which to leave some veneer of opsec but am curious to hear your thoughts on both cases

Well, I am not sure it actually matters if a PD or DA is a Marxist. But if he really "cheers whenever someone white suffers," a DA might treat a defendant differently depending on the defendant's race or the race of the victim. Given the enormous discretion DAs have in the criminal justice system, that could be a problem. It would be less of a problem for a PD, because PDs have little power. Either way, if you are truly concerned, you should make a report to your state's bar assn or other atty disciplinary body.

I can't rat out my buddy =\ But thank you for the candid advice

If you legitimately think your buddy will use his power corruptly and/or in a way that violates the civil rights of the people he is sworn to serve, I think you may have a moral responsibility to the people in your town (and to yourself, frankly) to report him to the bar. People welding government power don't get the protection of the "no snitching" rule.

Well, uh, is this a change in pace, continuation of existing trends, or representative of somewhat of a plateau in the local DA’s office policies? Logically ‘the DA’s office has been like this for a while, but the new guy is in person proof’ shouldn’t change your opinion much.

I amount of attention I've paid to local politics is near as makes no difference zero, so I honestly couldn't say. But I can say it doesn't feel safe to know the people in charge of our local justice system think my buddy belongs anywhere near it.

It's pretty hard for me to say a first thought is weird, per se. So long as you realize that it's probably not worth moving over.

Compared to a garden-variety moderate, is your friend going to do their job differently?

Yes. I probably should have mentioned they're currently a da/pd in a different county and they've spoken at length about how their politics directly affects their job

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