Stop me if you heard this before… the police conduct an investigation that reveals information that they believe is solid enough to press charges. The suspect claims innocence, but the system ignores their pleas and eventually sends them to prison.

Doesn’t that sound like thousands of cases that happen every single day across the United States?

Now let’s throw in a twist. What if the suspect is the District Attorney? What if that D.A. claims innocence despite strong evidence of wrongdoing? Well… you probably know where I am going with this now.

THROW HER ASS IN JAIL

That’s right…I am talking about District Attorney Kari Brandenburg and the recent allegations of witness intimidation and bribery. The D.A. is claiming that she has “never at any time violated the law.” Yet the APD report states that “there was probable cause to believe Brandenburg had violated state laws against witness bribery and intimidation in connection with alleged thefts of thousands of dollars worth of property by her 26 year old son.”

Wait a minute… did they say probable cause? In a record statement from 2012, D.A. Brandenburg states that probable cause is the requirement to present a case to a Grand Jury for indictment. Therefore, according to D.A. Brandenburg, it appears that this case should be presented to a Grand Jury to decide whether or not the D.A. should be indicted.

That being said, the reality is that she will probably never be put into that position. Why? This country and its People are governed by 2 sets of laws. One is for the elite class (politicians, corporations, and other “important” or rich individuals). This set of laws is loose and works in their favor. They are immune from the “regular” set of laws. The “regular” set of laws applies to everybody else and gets worse depending upon economic status or the color of a person’s skin.

This is a major problem in our society. In With Liberty and Justice for Some by Glenn Greenwald, the problem is explained:

“When the law is wielded only against the powerless, it ceases to be a safeguard against injustice and becomes the primary tool of oppression.”

D.A. Brandenburg is in an elected office that is expected to be tough on criminals. She is amongst the elite and expects that the system grant her immunity. She believes that she is above the law. Let any of us have a criminal investigation that yields probable cause. Do you think that she would just take our word that we were innocent? HELL NO! She would throw the book at us.

There is evidence that she intimated witnesses and bribed them. Who fucking cares what her story is. She can claim innocence, but needs to do it in a court of law. Mr. Greenwald also states “Courtrooms, indictments, and prisons are there for ordinary Americans, not for the ruling classes…” I guess that the D.A. believes that she is part of the ruling class.

Judge Diane Wood, of the 7^th Circuit Court of Appeals said “there is no one in society governed by law who is above the law or immune from some form of legal constraint.” Somebody may want to let D.A. Brandenburg in on this tidbit if information.

 WHAT IF D.A. BRANDENBURG ACTUALLY GOES BEFORE A GRAND JURY?

So what if she does stand before a Grand Jury? Will the office that she runs indict her? Does anybody think that the Great Oz will pull back the curtains and stand before the citizens of Emerald City? If police officers are immune from the system, why the hell would a D.A. be subject to it?

We must remember that D.A. Brandenburg believes that the Grand Jury is flawless and indicts the correct criminals. She even believes that police officers are indicted at a fair rate. In the recorded statement from 2012, she proudly proclaims that her office has data that over the last 40 years, 1 out of every 500 police officers involved in a shooting have been indicted and NONE of them were acquitted (and she brags that police have a broad range to use deadly force).

I am not quite sure where she gets this data. Most police departments do not release this type of information (and are not required to provide this information to any government agency). A New York Daily News Report used outside agencies to determine that on-duty NYPD officers have killed 179 people since 1999 (27% were unarmed; 86% were Black or Hispanic). Only 3 of these cases led to an indictment of a police officer and only one of those led to a conviction (the officer was sentenced to 5 years of probation and 500 hours of community service).

Considering recent incidents involving the failure of the Grand Jury and over whelming statistical evidence that the elite are immune from the system, maybe D.A. Brandenburg should rethink her faith in the system?

In reality, she knows that the system is corrupt and that she will never be indicted for her crimes. She IS the system. This is an excerpt from an article written by a group of Public Defenders:

“There is no system of checks and balances when a D.A. is tasked with prosecuting a colleague.”

It is just a fact that the D.A.’s Office is not going to indict the D.A. They are colleagues. D.A. Brandenburg knows that and can proudly proclaim her belief in that system. She, and many of her colleagues are immune from the “regular” set of laws that are for ordinary Americans, especially those with darker skin.

CONCLUSION

The Public Defenders go on to explain “Nearly every public defender will tell you that cases with much less evidence are indicted in a matter of minutes. The typical indictment will [only] require the testimony of one or two witnesses…”

D.A. Brandenburg’s case has an investigative report that supports probable cause and there are witnesses available. How can that not be enough?

One of D.A. Brandenburg’s goals is to “increase the [D.A.] office’s effectiveness in prosecuting those who violate our laws…” Maybe she should put an asterisk next to it that says “this only applies to poor people and people of color. The rest of us get to do whatever the fuck we feel like.”