A federal judge declared a mistrial Monday in the case of a D.C. nightclub owner charged with drug conspiracy — 2 ½ years after his previous conviction was tossed out because police used a global positioning device to track him without a warrant.
U.S. District Court Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle declared the mistrial when jurors could not reach a verdict for Antoine Jones after more than seven days of deliberations.
This was actually the third trial for Jones. His first trial, in 2007, also ended in a mistrial. He was convicted in a second trial and sentenced to life, but a federal appeals court reversed. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the reversal last year in a major decision that has prompted police to seek search warrants more often before they use GPS tracking devices.
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I have mixed feelings on this one. On the one hand, I want to see drug kingpins taken off the streets, but on the other, I am glad to see the courts uphold the Constitution. Obviously, the investigators blew the case by violating the Constitution and they should be charged, prosecuted and punished accordingly. If they had enough evidence to get a life sentence, there should have been more than enough evidence to get a legal warrant. Another example of cops gone wild and being above the law. I wonder how much this fiasco will cost the taxpayers. Three trials and 2 1/2 years probably adds up to millions. The cowboy cops should be held liable, but they won't.
ReplyDeleteYou're absolutely right 10:38, every game has rules.
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