What Did Judge Porter Do?
A couple of comments hinting at another amazing ruling from Porter's courtroom this past Friday. What monstrosity of a miscarriage of justice has been perpetrated against the populace of Cook County this week by one of the bottom five legal minds to grace the bench?
UPDATE: Ah, here it is.
UPDATE: Ah, here it is.
- Such warnings are often a harbinger of doom for defendants and their families. But minutes later the entire courtroom—despite the judge's warning—shrieked in joy and disbelief when Porter found Lamell Burns and Melvin Martin not guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, first-degree murder and attempted murder of a police officer. The roar could not have gone unnoticed by a jury in an adjacent room deliberating the fate of their co-defendant, Tristan Scaggs, 21.
The three were charged after a shootout with Chicago police in October 2006 that left two of the defendants' fellow reputed gang members dead.
Prosecutors alleged secret wiretaps revealed Martin and Burns planned a hit on a rival Traveling Vice Lord gang member and were directing a car containing Scaggs and two other cohorts to the victim's location when cops pulled them over to prevent the slaying.
Labels: county
posted by SCC at 12:01 AM
34 Comments:
SCC please generate a log of judges who are pro-criminal and hopefully a few PO's can help vote them out.
Why are we surprised by the verdict !
After all this is cook county and we all have seen what judges do for our line of duty fallen officers !
COOK COUNTY JUDGES SENT US ALL A MESSAGE !!!!
Our lives are cheap and not worth the ink the complaints are filled out with !!!
Well, I'm gonna run right out and get a gun pinch! Wanna watch? Look for my GPS and watch it on my in-car camera!! I'll stick my neck waaay out there so some jackoff jude can let them off! Gotta love this job!
When the two were not at the scene of the shootings, and there was nothing on the tapes tying Lamell Burns and Melvin Martin to the conspiracy to commit murder, sadly there is reasonable doubt. All cases must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. I am sorry for the officer who was injured.
This asshole judge needs to be launched off the bench... PRONTO!!!
Obviously, the state didn't present a strong enough case. With Devine as our state's attorney, I'm not surprised.
Sounds like a motion to fix was in.
ONLY IN COOK COUNTY!
Unfortunately, I can't even remember the last time a judge was NOT retained at election time. It's such a crooked racket..."your honor" to be sure...
The conspiracy case to murder the rival gang member(s) was weak and obviously the judge saw that as well. Blame the State's Attorney's Office for pursuing the wrong charge. He was found guilty for Attempted Murder of a Police Officer because that's who he actually attempted to murder and now he faces up to 80 years.
I don't see anything wrong with that picture.
Melvin Martin AKA Ben Ben has been responsible for the killing of over 20 people on the streets of Chicago during the past last 5 years.
Gang Leader 1
Law abiding citzens living in terror 0!!!!!!!!!!
The worst Judge is still Anita Rivkin-Carrouthers, former house counsel to the Gangster Disciples and defender of cop killers.
At least the Chief Judge is still keeping her in Traffic Court where she can do as little harm as possible.
Next time Judge Rodney Brooks is up for retention, we need a "no" vote. He's the jerk who let Jonathan Toliver out on the streets when he should have been in jail. Days later he murdered Mike Ceriale. At the time, the FOP said they would get the word out to the CPD about this judge, but I don't think they ever did.
Anonymous said...
When the two were not at the scene of the shootings, and there was nothing on the tapes tying Lamell Burns and Melvin Martin to the conspiracy to commit murder, sadly there is reasonable doubt. All cases must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. I am sorry for the officer who was injured.
10/14/2008 01:32:00 AM
Hello, ASA
Nice contribution to this blog, NOT
wonderful....what a fucking joke this justice system is
Hate to say it but Judge Porter is not responsible for the 12 idiots that made up the jury. there is nothing that a judge can do when a jury comes back with a Not Guilty. I am not a fan of Porter's but in this case his hands awere tied. You would think that Policemen that are supposed to know the law would actually know how the system works.
I am sorry for the officer who was injured.
10/14/2008 01:32:00 AM
Don't cry I'm sorry to me !! If you want a priest to confess to, find another blog but I for one have seen more than a dozen times how judges will shit on the grave of a cpd officer and then say " sorry but there was a reasonable doubt ".
Dennis J. Porter is an associate judge.
This means he cannot be voted out by the public. He has a 4 year term. He has to be retained by the elected judges for retention each time.the requisite is 3/5ths vote in favor of reappointment as Associate Judge.
Anonymous said...
When the two were not at the scene of the shootings, and there was nothing on the tapes tying Lamell Burns and Melvin Martin to the conspiracy to commit murder, sadly there is reasonable doubt. All cases must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. I am sorry for the officer who was injured.
10/14/2008 01:32:00 AM
To whoever wrote tbhis there were hours of wiretaps of Burns and Martin planning the "hit." Please do not comment on what you do not know.
Porter found these to murdering thugs not guilty for two reasons, white guilt, and he was so intimidated by the black faces in the gallery.
Many people made huge sacrificces in building that case and Porter shit all over them.
If that was three policemen on trila they would have been hammered, it really sucks when a jury has more common sense then a judge.
Who was the portly looking third chair on the case who appeared to do nothing for two weeks? Probably some political hack or some politician's nephew looking for some publicity.
shrieked in joy and disbelief when Porter found Lamell Burns and Melvin Martin not guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, first-degree murder and attempted murder of a police officer.
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$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
F-I-X-E-D.............
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Graylord alive and well.
Prosecutors alleged secret wiretaps revealed Martin and Burns planned a hit on a rival Traveling Vice Lord gang member
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Am I missing something?? What was the charge, Thought Crime?
Shiiiiit you could lock up 98% of the West Side right now for "planning" on killing some asshole.
Guys, next time let the hit go down *THEN* lock them up!
Maybe that is what the judge was looking for.......
This decision is absolutely, LEGALLY wrong!
An attempt is a hard crime to prove. The state has to prove that the defendant INTENDED to commit "A SPECIFIC OFFENSE" AND the defendant took a "substantial step" toward committing that crime.
If these defendants didn't intend to have PO shot, the attempt murder of a PO would have been hard to prove.
A conspiracy is another matter. In a conspiracy the state only has to prove 1) an agreement and 2) with the "INTENT that AN OFFENSE be committed." The state then only needs to show that the defendant made "an act in furtherance" of the conspiracy (ie. a phone call).
So, if you conspire to commit a misdemeanor theft and your co-conspirator kills the victim, then you are guilty of CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT MURDER. The fact that the defendants in this case did not have a SPECIFIC TARGET is irrelevant. The defendants made an agreement to commit AN OFFENSE (aggravated discharge of a firearm or even just UUW). The defendant Scroggs committed a felony murder in the process, therefore, the defendants are guilty of conspiracy to commit murder.
The law intentionally punishes ANY involvement in a conspiracy with the maximum penalty because defendants who conspire to commit crimes are even more dangerous that defendants who commit crimes in the heat of the moment.
Finally, once these two defendants committed a conspiracy to commit murder, there were also guilty of FELONY MURDER when their co-conspirators were killed in the process of committing AN OFFENSE!
Anonymous said...
SCC please generate a log of judges who are pro-criminal and hopefully a few PO's can help vote them out.
10/14/2008 12:17:00 AM
___________________________
...don't even need that. Just don't vote for an incumbent.
Hate to say it but Judge Porter is not responsible for the 12 idiots that made up the jury. there is nothing that a judge can do when a jury comes back with a Not Guilty. I am not a fan of Porter's but in this case his hands awere tied. You would think that Policemen that are supposed to know the law would actually know how the system works.
+++++++++++
And you'd think that someone who comments on a blog might actually read the linked article.
Three people were on trial. Two declined jury trials and went with a bench trial. Those two beat the case. The last guy chose a jury trial and he's the one facing 80 years.
Porter's hands weren't tied. Greased? Maybe, but not tied.
Next time Judge Rodney Brooks is up for retention, we need a "no" vote. He's the jerk who let Jonathan Toliver out on the streets when he should have been in jail. Days later he murdered Mike Ceriale. At the time, the FOP said they would get the word out to the CPD about this judge, but I don't think they ever did.
Don't forget who was the judge who did the two tolliver trials and who gave him the 60 year sentence ?
Don't forget who was the judge who did the two tolliver trials and who gave him the 60 year sentence ?
10/14/2008 10:50:00 PM
Judge Porter sentenced Tolliver.
Ironic isn't it.
Anonymous said...
Hate to say it but Judge Porter is not responsible for the 12 idiots that made up the jury. there is nothing that a judge can do when a jury comes back with a Not Guilty. I am not a fan of Porter's but in this case his hands awere tied. You would think that Policemen that are supposed to know the law would actually know how the system works.
10/14/2008 11:16:00 AM
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It was a bench trial...
"...don't even need that. Just don't vote for an incumbent.
10/14/2008 07:53:00 PM"
In Judicial elections, it's called voting to NOT RETAIN.
And it's so fucking easy.
On the other side of this coin, the vacancies created by not retaining sitting judges will be filled by appointment, not by the votes of the electorate.
In any case, regularly voting to NOT RETAIN judges could eventually result, at some point in time, in most to all sitting judges being appointed, not elected.
If anyone knows the specifics concerning the process of judicial appointments, please post them.
Hate to say it but Judge Porter is not responsible for the 12 idiots that made up the jury. there is nothing that a judge can do when a jury comes back with a Not Guilty. I am not a fan of Porter's but in this case his hands awere tied. You would think that Policemen that are supposed to know the law would actually know how the system works.
10/14/2008 11:16:00 AM
Your a fucking moron. IT WAS A BENCH TRIAL. DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT IS "POLICEMEN"?
Either you can't read or just a fucking retard.
To:
Hate to say it but Judge Porter is not responsible for the 12 idiots that made up the jury. there is nothing that a judge can do when a jury comes back with a Not Guilty. I am not a fan of Porter's but in this case his hands awere tied. You would think that Policemen that are supposed to know the law would actually know how the system works.
10/14/2008 11:16:00 AM
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You ignorant bastard. The judge cut the 2 leaders finding them not guilty of all charges.. The jury found the survivor in the car guilty on conspiracy and attempt murder of a police officer. The jury believed the case and the police.
Well it sounds like the third guy didn't get the note to go with the bench trial, otherwise he wouldn't be in jail right now.
RE:
Hate to say it but Judge Porter is not responsible for the 12 idiots that made up the jury. there is nothing that a judge can do when a jury comes back with a Not Guilty. I am not a fan of Porter's but in this case his hands awere tied. You would think that Policemen that are supposed to know the law would actually know how the system works.
IT WAS A BENCH TRIAL YOU FUCKING IDIOT!!!!!
I saw the lead prosecutor make a great closing argument in front of the jury. He defended the police all the way. He was excellent and should be commended.
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