In 1982, in his book “The Best Defense,” Alan Dershowitz listed what he called the Rules of the Justice Game. Among these were the following:
Rule III: It is easier to convict guilty defendants by violating the Constitution than by complying with it, and in some cases it is impossible to convict guilty defendants without violating the Constitution.
Rule IV: Almost all police lie about whether they violated the Constitution in order to convict guilty defendants.
Rule V: All prosecutors, judges, and defense attorneys are aware of Rule IV.
Rule VI: Many prosecutors implicitly encourage police to lie about whether they violated the Constitution in order to convict guilty defendants.
Rule VII: All judges are aware of Rule VI.
Rule VIII: Most trial judges pretend to believe police officers who they know are lying.
That prosecutors encourage and judges credit police perjury to allow unlawfully obtained evidence to be admitted is not merely a theory. The New York Times has reported that the prevalence of police perjury to justify stops and seizures is so great that the police themselves for it – testilying. Indeed, in a three part series, the New York Times found that there is a “ culture of dishonesty” and that officers who lie to justify illegal police conduct are more likely to be promoted than punished. (Parts one, two, and three of the reporting on police perjury).
This encouragement and acceptance of police lies regarding illegal police behavior explains why police believe that they can get away with writing false reports about their actions. The videos of the past month have demonstrated that the police version of events, such as the murder of George Floyd, are often lies to justify their illegal behavior. Only because of the videos, we know that the police lied when they claimed that Floyd resisted
arrest or that, in Buffalo, Martin Gugino, tripped. Otherwise the police lies would have been accepted.
We won’t have justice until prosecutors and judges stop pretending to believe lying police officers. If after seeing proof of police lies, prosecutors and judges still pretend to credit them, they are complicit in the misconduct.
Rule III: It is easier to convict guilty defendants by violating the Constitution than by complying with it, and in some cases it is impossible to convict guilty defendants without violating the Constitution.
Rule IV: Almost all police lie about whether they violated the Constitution in order to convict guilty defendants.
Rule V: All prosecutors, judges, and defense attorneys are aware of Rule IV.
Rule VI: Many prosecutors implicitly encourage police to lie about whether they violated the Constitution in order to convict guilty defendants.
Rule VII: All judges are aware of Rule VI.
Rule VIII: Most trial judges pretend to believe police officers who they know are lying.
That prosecutors encourage and judges credit police perjury to allow unlawfully obtained evidence to be admitted is not merely a theory. The New York Times has reported that the prevalence of police perjury to justify stops and seizures is so great that the police themselves for it – testilying. Indeed, in a three part series, the New York Times found that there is a “ culture of dishonesty” and that officers who lie to justify illegal police conduct are more likely to be promoted than punished. (Parts one, two, and three of the reporting on police perjury).
This encouragement and acceptance of police lies regarding illegal police behavior explains why police believe that they can get away with writing false reports about their actions. The videos of the past month have demonstrated that the police version of events, such as the murder of George Floyd, are often lies to justify their illegal behavior. Only because of the videos, we know that the police lied when they claimed that Floyd resisted
arrest or that, in Buffalo, Martin Gugino, tripped. Otherwise the police lies would have been accepted.
We won’t have justice until prosecutors and judges stop pretending to believe lying police officers. If after seeing proof of police lies, prosecutors and judges still pretend to credit them, they are complicit in the misconduct.
Posts
