Progressive Prosecutions  by Tom Reynolds

Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals number 5 is: Ridicule is man's most potent weapon.  Conservatives are less likely to do this but it’s just getting too easy!  Case in point: just when you thought the progressives couldn’t get crazier, along comes Manhattan’s new DA, Alvin Bragg.  The New York Post reports that he has issued some “interesting” directives to his staff, all of which should have people aching for more personal protection guns in the “Big Apple”.

Armed robbers who use guns or other deadly weapons to stick up stores and other businesses will be prosecuted only for petty larceny, a misdemeanor, provided no victims were seriously injured and there’s no “genuine risk of physical harm”.  (Isn’t a genuine risk of physical harm the reason criminals use guns in holdups?)

Convicted criminals caught with weapons other than guns will have those felony charges downgraded to misdemeanors unless they’re also charged with more serious offenses. (Will licensed gun owners caught with guns while passing through Manhattan also be treated so well?)

Drug dealers believed to be “acting as a low-level agent of a seller” will be prosecuted only for misdemeanor possession.  (Will drug dealers now open kiosks next to grammar schools since they will be mostly off-the-hook?)   

Suspected drug dealers will only be prosecuted on felony charges if they’re also accused of more serious crimes or are actually caught in the act of selling drugs.  (Basic management for drug dealers: delegate responsibilities and avoid responsibility.)

The DA’s office will only seek prison time for homicides and a handful of other cases.  (Roaming around free to commit crimes while on parole is such a disincentive for criminals!)

The Office will not seek a sentence of life without parole. (For a murder victim, the life sentence is still in order.)

When prosecutors seek a prison sentence that can’t be reviewed or changed by a parole board, the request can be for no more than 20 years.  (Do murderers often get parole before 20 years are up?)

“Charges should be brought consistent with the goal of providing services to such individuals…”  (Commit crimes to get government services!  What a novel method of getting attention from government bureaucrats?)

ADAs should evaluate the person arrested, and identify people: who suffer from mental illness; who are unhoused; who commit crimes of poverty; or who suffer from substance use disorders.  (Does the criminal’s criminal intent ever enter into this evaluation?)

Bragg also told prosecutors to take into account the impact prison would have on the defendant’s life.  (Perhaps Bragg would follow Biden’s example and give the criminal $450,000 because committing a crime and getting caught separates the criminals from their family.)

In an accompanying “Day One” letter to his staff, Bragg claimed, “These policy changes…will, in and of themselves, make us safer…”  (Wanna bet?)

He also pledged that “new initiatives and policies on guns, sex crimes, hate crimes, and other matters will be announced in the coming weeks.”  (Let me guess: criminals good, guns bad.)

Bragg, also made clear his mission is to reduce the number of defendants locked up pretrial; “…we must reserve pretrial detention for very serious cases.”  (Since Bail Reform has gone so well.)

He won’t prosecute low level crimes like prostitution and resisting arrest.  (Criminals should now feel free to resist arrest as, unlike with George Floyd, there will be no down side.)

“Bragg gives criminals the roadmap to freedom from prosecution and control of our streets,” said the head of the NYPD Detectives’ Endowment Association.  (Any west coast cities that might be good examples of this?)

Not to be outdone, the District Attorney of Albany County, N.Y., on Tuesday announced that his office was dropping a misdemeanor sex crime criminal case of forcible touching against former Governor Andrew Cuomo.  It allegedly occurred on the second floor of the governor’s mansion.  (One wonders if the decision would be the same if Cuomo were a Republican?) 

Never fear, New York Attorney General Letitia James is trying to take a tough law-and-order stance in her investigation of whether fraud “permeated the Trump Organization.”  James requested to take a deposition from former President Donald Trump on January 7th and she has now subpoenaed Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump.  (None of the Trumps are complying.  Perhaps the Trumps should “identify” as Democrats to make this go away.)

NYC’s Bragg also has to decide if he will pursue a separate investigation into Donald Trump and his business practices, inherited from his predecessor.  (Any bets on whether or not he pursues that one?) 

New York City residents should petition the Supreme Court for a quick decision on NYSRPA v Bruen.  They’re gonna need more guns.