From: mwilson@ncratl.AtlantaGA.NCR.COM (Mark Wilson)
Subject: Re: Rodney King Trial, Civil Rights Violations, Double Jeopardy
Organization: NCR Engineering and Manufacturing Atlanta -- Atlanta, GA
Lines: 37

In <1993Apr2.182942.22445@husc3.harvard.edu> spanagel@husc11.harvard.edu (David Spanagel) writes:

|Recently it's occured to me that I've never heard of any PERSON ever being
|tried in Federal Court for violating someone's civil rights. Of course
|there have been cases before the Supreme Court in which it was decided
|that someone's civil rights had been violated (e.g., Miranda, Escobedo,
|etc.), but institutions were, de facto, the defendants, not individuals. Am I
|mistaken? Have there been similar cases against individuals in the past? 

I know it was used several times in the south, to prosecute the murders of
blacks, after all white juries had cleared the accussed.

|Furthermore, what are the specific charges against the four LAPD officers? 
|Which civil rights or laws are they accused of violating? 

I believe it is a general charge, that is no specific right is mentioned.

|What about double jeopardy? Has there been any concern that a verdict
|against Koon, et al. might be overturned upon appeal because they're being tried
|again for the same actions? (I thought I heard something on the news about 
|this.)

The SS has previously ruled that since the seperate governments were in
essence seperate sovereigns, then double jeopardy does not apply.

(If this is true, then could defendents also be tried under city and
county governments?)

This mornings paper said that the ACLU has decided to reinstate its
opposition to this kind of thing. They had earlier suspended their
opposition while they examined the King case. There might be hope
for the ACLU after all.
-- 
Mob rule isn't any prettier merely because the mob calls itself a government
It ain't charity if you are using someone else's money.
Wilson's theory of relativity: If you go back far enough, we're all related.
Mark.Wilson@AtlantaGA.NCR.com
