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PaperclipPerfector  5mo ago (text post)   3656 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for November 26, 2023

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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?

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.

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