Posts by Justitia Themis

51

Prosecutors Arrest Rape Victim for Failure to Show up at Trial!

by Diest in

jw
friends

although i wish she would testify, i would not arrest her for not showing up.

especially if she fears for her life.

what sad story.. .

Justitia Themis

I don't agree that we should treat a 17-year-old foster child any differently than another 17-year-old by assuming they are mature for their age.

No one ever made that claim. This is a case about this girl and the decision by this prosecutor and and this judge based on her circumstances.

They may need even more careful handling because of a childhood full of turmoil. That's all I'm saying

No, that's not all you were saying. You do not know if she needs "careful handling." You (and I) have no idea of her criminal past or her level of legal sophistication and cognitive abilities. Despite this extreme knowledge gap and based merely on media reports, you felt fully justified in attacking the prosecutor's decision to ask for a material witness warrant and the judge's decision to grant one.

I take it you testified against your attacker Justitia?

No, but I would have loved to; unfortunately, the SOL had passed. I was attacked by a family member related by marriage...who was also a presiding overseer. When I reported it to my mother (at about 13 years of age), she told me to shut-up about it because it would cause "problems." He went on to continue offending. He was eventually discovered by the rest of the family when he drugged and raped my 12 year-old niece. My sister (her mother) refused to report him because like still-thinking, she didn't 'want to put her daughter through the stress of testifying and the judicial system...yada...yada...yada.' My niece hates her mother because of that decision because she wanted her day in court.

He continued to offend, and after his death, victim after victim came forward. Lots of them were attacked after I reported it to my mother or after my sister could have done something. Each one of those victims is the personal responsibility of my mother and my sister, and I have told them that to their faces. The only thing more scary than these guys walking around are these women who cower, thinking only of themselves and what they might have to endure in the judicial system, and who end up acting as rapist-facilitators by refusing to report or testify.

BTW, you will find many of your best female police officers and prosecutors are sexual assault survivors, as opposed to victims. I think both categories (victim/survivor) are demonstrated on this thread.

51

Prosecutors Arrest Rape Victim for Failure to Show up at Trial!

by Diest in

jw
friends

although i wish she would testify, i would not arrest her for not showing up.

especially if she fears for her life.

what sad story.. .

Justitia Themis

Is the other adult witness being held in jail and forced to testify?

Why on EARTH would the other adult need to be put in jail if that adult has been ready and willing to testify?

17 can be quite young, and I don't believe this girl has a great support system because she is in the system.

It can be, but as a foster child that is just about ready to 'age-out,' it is incredibly unlikely that she is "quite young." And no, she doesn't have a support system. Neither do a LOT of people in this world.

I can't help but picture my daughter in this situation, and I can't help but feel protective.

I can see that. Unfortunately, letting their emotions control their decision-making is not a luxury the people actually performing this work are allowed.

. What is it about the girl's story you don't believe? Do you think she did not become afraid, or that the crime didn't happen?

I think the crime happened, but I don't think she fears for her life. It's a step that rarely happens for someone in her situation. Two persons, sworn to upholding justice (the prosecutor and judge) and protecting the rights of victims decided to take this extreme action. I just believe there is more there than the public can know, and the prosecutor and judge are not at liberty to say. I'm sure they are just having a peachy time being drug through the media mud.

51

Prosecutors Arrest Rape Victim for Failure to Show up at Trial!

by Diest in

jw
friends

although i wish she would testify, i would not arrest her for not showing up.

especially if she fears for her life.

what sad story.. .

Justitia Themis

Well...there you go. Prosecutors were key in getting those laws passed.

Pontificate away. News flash: these kids get offered up all the time. Her life was bad; nothing will change that. Nevertheless, she isn't being "offered up" any more than the other adult witness who is waiting to testify. She's 17, not 12. She has nothing more to fear than the other witness. I simply don't buy her story.

BTW, I have two daughters, and I am a rape victim. ; )

51

Prosecutors Arrest Rape Victim for Failure to Show up at Trial!

by Diest in

jw
friends

although i wish she would testify, i would not arrest her for not showing up.

especially if she fears for her life.

what sad story.. .

Justitia Themis

...not sure how long ago your friend was told "not to testify," but we have had rape-shield laws that prohibit any questions concerning the victim's sex life for about 15 years or so now.

I simply consider the girl's story suspect. Just be thankful you can hire people (prosecutors) to do your dirty work so you can pontificate on a discussion board because if this story causes you this amount of angst, you wouldn't last a week if you had to make the no-win decisions these prosecutors make on a daily basis.

As I said, the judge too saw something, or he never would have issued the warrant. In addition, these warrants have to be re-examined every ten days or so.

51

Prosecutors Arrest Rape Victim for Failure to Show up at Trial!

by Diest in

jw
friends

although i wish she would testify, i would not arrest her for not showing up.

especially if she fears for her life.

what sad story.. .

Justitia Themis

TEC the law is that you have to show up, but not that you have to testify

Actually, a person must do both. If you do not appear, a warrant for your arrest can be issued. The police will bring you in to testify based on that warrant. If you refuse to testify, you can be held in contempt of court and thrown in jail until you decide to testify. If a witness pleads "the Fifth" and the prosecutor waives their prosecution, they must testify or be in contempt.

As a material witness, she is being given very special treatment--probably better than she would receive at her foster home--and she is not being treated like a criminal. Plus, considering her age and location (I'm originally from Sacramento), I doubt she is as 'fragile' as her advocates are portraying. Lastly, as multiple media sites have documented, this type of action doesn't happen that often with minors. Prosecutors are more aware of issues with rape victims than anyone on this board, with the exception of those who have been assaulted. The combination of that knowledge and their inability (Rule of Professional Conduct) to speak freely concerning pending cases leads me to suspect that there is more going on than is being, or can be, reported to the media at this time.

Addendum: Remember too that a prosecutor must ask for a material witness warrant, but it is ultimately the judge who grants or denys it based on the evidence. The judge in this case was my daughter's boss when she was at the Sacramento office of the U.S. Department of Justice, and he is an incredibly nice man.

33

Do People Hate You Too For Being Too Beautiful?

by minimus in

jw
friends

samantha brick has this problem.

i understand her pain..

Justitia Themis

She is living in France. International friends explained to me that French men think ALL blondes are "beautiful" even when they are not. It relates back to a French societal presumption that Nordic women lack morals, followed by British women and then American women. Fellow students who have studied abroad in France were even given handbooks explaining this.

You might find this spoof written by a guy to be pretty funny. http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/apr/04/samantha-brick-hated-good-looks

5

The Stupidity of the present generation - The Golden Age, July 29, 1925

by VM44 in

the golden age, july 29, 1925, p. 688.

"the stupidity of the present generation will be a subject of comment and criticism a hundred years hence.

the resurrected millions will look back to this time, and wonder that both leaders and people were so utterly blind to the significance of present-day events.

Justitia Themis

This thread would be worth "resurrecting" on July, 29, 2025.

61

Supreme Court Ruling Allows Strip-Searches For Any Arrest

by Bangalore in

jw
friends

supreme court ruling allows strip-searches for any arrest.. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/03/us/justices-approve-strip-searches-for-any-offense.html.

bangalore.

.

Justitia Themis

New Chapter, Hemp Lover - do you realize that you are doing more complaining about the strip searches than for the actual wrongful arrest of the guy in question and keeping him behind bars for six days?

It does look like law enforcement made a mistake with this guy - but that is not an excuse to overturn basic jail security.

I think this may be an example of where Woods and I agree. The problem was with the arresting officer, but he is likely "shielded" from suit. I haven't researched this specifically, but for the life of me, I can't understand why he wasn't released for six days. Does anyone know how long it took to get him before a magistrate? The magistrate would have the power to release him. Back to this issue...I agree with the justices. Consider this hypothetical: a person is arrested for a minor offense, but the booking officers identify him as a "known" violent gang member and he is covered in gang tattoos. Do we really want to make it illegal/unconstitutional for those booking agents to perform a cavity search? I think not. I think we have a duty to protect the rest of the "general population."

47

Latest AWAKE claims most College students consider Prostitution/Stripping to pay for education!!! What the?

by Witness 007 in

"watching the world" in awake has always been used as a tool to promote certain doctrines like blood, the u.n etc.

in the new "step-parents" awake magazine, it has an article claiming how 1 in 3 college students would consider stripping or sex work to pay for it!!!

anti college propaganda????

Justitia Themis

Here is the article, and a couple of things jump out at me. First, prostitution is legal in Paris and Berlin, so all the question is asking is if they would perform a legal but undersireable job to pay for college. Students perform lots of undesireable but legal jobs to get through college. Kiev is a sex tourism destination, and the depressed economy there has only made it worse. If those women are already selling their bodies to eat, why would they balk at selling them to get an education that would enable them to eventually not sell their bodies?

How much is your college tuition worth? At Berlin University, 1 in 3 students said that they would consider working as a prostitute in order to pay for college. The study, conducted by the Berlin Studies Center, found that 4% had already done some form of sex work in order to pay for college.

The study found that 4% of students in Berlin, where prostitution is legal, have either worked as a prostitute, stripper, or conducted an online show to raise money for tuition.

Eva Blumenschein, one of the study’s authors said:

“The main motivation of students to turn to prostitution were the financial incentives, namely the high hourly wages. It’s possible that because educational reforms have increased student workloads, they have less time to earn money. Coupled with higher student fees, in this instance, leads students into prostitution.”

The Berlin Studies Center also surveyed students in Paris and Kiev. 29.2% of students in Paris said they would consider sex work, and 18.5% said the same in Kiev.

63

Osiris, Odin, Jesus

by Chariklo in

osiris died and was resurrected.

odin hung on a tree for nine days, travelled to the underworld and came back with many secrets.

jesus we know about.. the echo of the first two has niggled at me for years.

Justitia Themis

I just finished a book written by a devout Catholic woman, who went on a quest to defend the Catholic church against Dan Brown's charges. At the end, she rejected the Catholic church and came to the conclusion that Mary Magdalene was Jesus' wife.

In her book, she mentioned that part of the Song of Solomon that speaks of the Shulamite virgin was actually a direct quote from a pagan writing from Osiri's sister-bride, and that other parts are very close paraphrases. To support her contention, she footnoted a book from an acamedic, but I have not bought it yet. Per her book, Osiris' wife performed a pre-death annointing ritual similar to the one that Mary, sister of Lazarus, performed on Jesus. She thinks both Marys are the same.

Her basic thesis is that "god" has always had a real bride (Osiris and his sister-bride, etc.), and so did Jesus. Christianity, and the world, is fractured because they are denying the other rightful female-goddess part of the equation, and she outlined the egregious steps the Catholic church took to stamp out the cult of the Magdalene, eventually replacing her with the virgin Mary.

She makes a LOT of logical leaps, and I don't buy all of it. Yet, the single sentence that most struck me was when she pointed out that, as a result of Christianity, the "spiritual ideal" is now a perpetually celibate man born of a virgin mother. How sexually and emotionally warped! No "issues" there!