Remarkable story of official malfeasance in Albemarle County (Charlottesville), Virginia: though now released from prison, “Mark Weiner has lost more than two years with his young son and with his wife, he’s lost his job, he’s lost his family home, and he’s lost every penny he ever had in savings or retirement accounts.” [Dahlia Lithwick, Slate]
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One thing that can be done–people can file bar complaints against the prosecutor. If the facts are as alleged, then she broke numerous rules of professional conduct. The judge shouldn’t escape scot-free either. I understand that procedural rules need to be followed, but the exclusion of evidence seems unbelievably wrong-headed.
And it seems that the complainant needs to be prosecuted as well. That won’t happen because the prosecutor’s office needs some deniability.
This man basically has to take this injustice. How is that ok?
I predict that there will be no penalty to the DA or the false accuser for their knowing efforts to put an innocent man in jail.
Imagine, for a second, being Mr. Weiner. The prosecutor and the judge get to live their lives, indifferent to the unjustified suffering they imposed on him. This was not an honest mistake–this was an appalling abuse of power.
The judge and the prosecutor didn’t even have the decency to apologize, let alone correct the record by declaring his innocence–why, because they would have to admit that they wronged him and his family. So now, how is he supposed to get a job? Dollars to donuts, the criminal record will follow him, and he’ll have to live with the doubts that others have because the prosecutor won’t do the right thing at this late date. In other words, the judge and the prosecutor are still actively harming him.
And the person that lied on the stand? Crime victims (i.e., Mr. Weiner) are supposed to be vindicated by the state. But what happens when the state actors’ interests align with NOT prosecuting an egregious crime? Answer, the crime victim gets to live with the injustice.
I understand why we have prosecutorial and judicial immunity. But we need to recognize that real people are egregiously harmed.
Where is the bench and the bar here? The judges of Virginia should be embarrassed the judge is a member of the bench. Her colleagues should shun her, and each and every judge, when speaking publicly, should pitilessly criticize this creature. As for the prosecutor, the outcry of the bar should be enough to get her permanently disbarred and disgraced.
But the bench and the bar don’t care.
No good deed goes unpunished.