Justice is not achieved through trickery

I am gravely disappointed that Senator Craig has been unsuccessful in having his guilty plea withdrawn and receiving a fair and speedy trial before a jury of his peers.

Yes, Senator Craig, stupidly, pled guilty. A guilty plea signifies an admission of culpability, an agreement of the accused and the prosecutor and the court that a guilty verdict is appropriate.

It is clear that Senator Craig no longer agrees. It is also if not clear at least apparently strongly possible that he entered that guilty plea on the basis of assurances a police officer had no cause to be making, assurances made in bad faith. Senator Craig was misled. Shame on him for being a person in such a position of power and yet so naive as to believe a police officer. Shame on the system for misleading him.

Confidence in the criminal justice system in part stems from belief that those convicted of a crime are guilty of that crime. We achieve that confidence through an expensive and rigorous criminal justice process involving a trial before a jury of the accused's peers wherein the Government proves that the accused committed the crime. We forgo this expense when the accused agrees to guilt, often in exchange for lesser consequences. That coercion is extremely philosophically and practically problematic, but the coercion of the plea bargaining system is not the topic of this post.

In this case there is some doubt about what really happened with Senator Craig, about whether there has been some misunderstanding. Failure to overturn the guilty plea and require a trial avoids an opportunity that it be proven beyond a reasonable doubt to a jury of citizens that a crime was committed here. That standard is appropriate an necessary in a situation where a vote in the most powerful lawmaking body in the world is on the line.

Trickery and something short of the full judicial process swings a senator from power and influence to criminality. We the people ought to be uncomfortable with that. I believe Senator Craig is owed a trial here, but even short of that, I believe the people, you and I, are owed that trial. Here is a situation where a guilty plea ought not to have been accepted in the first place.

"Mr. Craig, the court apologizes, but it finds that it is contrary to the interests of justice to accept your plea. The people are owed proof beyond a reasonable doubt where a senator is effectively removed from office. The court regrets any embarrassment a trial may cause you, but recognizes that really, you're going to face embarrassment and ridicule regardless, so that may at least be purposeful in giving the public assurance that justice is indeed being served. Your guilty plea cannot be accepted. Please enter a plea of not guilty."