Edwards trial mess

[Syzygys]

This is getting really juicy, the jury has reached verdict on only one account. There are 5 more left, the judge sent them back to deliberate and work on it. It was kind of an expensive trial...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...l-jury-reaches-verdict-on-only-one-count.html

Personally, I am sure he knew about the money misappropriation, but were they able to prove it, that is another question...

I am ready to print T-Shirts: I went to the Edwards trial, and all I got for my taxmoney is 1 lousy verdict....

Edit: That was quick, they came back, not guilty on count 3, mistrial on the rest. This was what the deffense hoped for...

 

[Tiassa]

Law and Justice

As I understand the trial, it was more about finding a way to send a prominent sleazebag to prison for being a sleazebag, as opposed to sending a prominent sleazebag to prison for breaking the law.

This is one of those things the state has a hard time proving beyond a reasonable doubt; as Patrik Jonnson's lede for The Christian Science Monitor put it:

John Edwards may have committed many sins, as his defense attorney noted, but a North Carolina jury on Thursday did not convict him of any crimes.​

This trial was more about the question of law and justice than whether or not John Edwards was a crook. We all know he's moral excrement, at best. But throughout this process, many have questioned whether that is enough to send him to prison.

Apparently, the answer is, "No".
____________________

Notes:

Jonnson, Patrik. "Is John Edwards verdict the last straw for campaign finance?" The Christian Science Monitor. May 31, 2012. CSMonitor.com. May 31, 2012. http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justic...s-verdict-the-last-straw-for-campaign-finance

 

[Syzygys]

I tried to find the cost of the trial, so far I haven't been able, but my guess is 5 million bucks.

Actually, a 9 days jury decision would make a good movie. Or TV series. You can start seriously hating your fellow jury members after a few days. And even when the judge asked them to be able to change positions, there is no way people will change there stands when they hate the other side, thus we have a mistrial.

Edwards is basicly pulled a Kennedy and got away with good looks. According to rumours, he even flirted with one of the jury members.

 

[Syzygys]

This long article says the cost is estimated at 2 million bucks, and the government probably won't retry him:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articl...-verdict-why-johnny-walked-on-a-mistrial.html

Unrelated, but Edwards is 58 years old but looks like 45. Damn bastard....Also, Edwards still holds the record for winning North Carolina’s largest personal-injury suit ever....

Edit: Well, after reading about it more, I am actually glad he got off. First, I don't see why we should pay for housing him for a few years, second, he did lots of good things in his state, third, the charges weren't actually proven. For comparison, here is a very similar case and that guy was never prosecuted, although the evidence against him was much better and the crime stronger:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ensign_scandal

"The Senate Ethics Committee, after investigating for twenty two months, concluded that "substantial and credible evidence" that Ensign broke federal laws in his effort to cover up the extramarital affair and referred the case to the Department of Justice and Federal Election Commission for further investigation."