Woman on trial for laughing during Sessions' confirmation hearing (Up: found guilty)

[Dr.Acula]

Why in the world would she reject their plea deal?

Do you know what was offered? I can't find any details. It could have been a shitty deal.

 

[diablos991]

Do you know what was offered? I can't find any details. It could have been a shitty deal.

I haven't seen any details but it had to be better than a potential 12 months jail time.

Maybe banking on getting out early?

 

[Einchy]

I haven't seen any details but it had to be better than a potential 12 months jail time.

Maybe banking on getting out early?

Probably banking on common sense but we're on short supply recently.

 

[Kinsei]

I haven't seen any details but it had to be better than a potential 12 months jail time.

Maybe banking on getting out early?

Or she just has principles.

The proper response to any plea deal in this situation would be telling the prosecution to go fuck themselves.

 

[enzo_gt]

It's 2017, cops can kill unarmed black children with no reasonable justification or recourse, but laughing during a confirmation hearing is disorderly conduct.

It's like we looked at the war on drugs and thought that wasn't filling up prisons fast enough.

 

[rjinaz]

I feel like this should be a way bigger story. Like this is pure insanity.

If this were a thread on Milo or Coulter and them not getting to speak at a university, the free speech advocates would be all over the thread reminding us liberals that hate speech is American as apple pie. Instead with this, we get silence. Imagine that.

 

[Rest]

Freedom of Speech (just watch what you say...)

 

[Kinsei]

If this were a thread on Milo or Coulter and them not getting to speak at a university, the free speech advocates would be all over the thread reminding us liberals that hate speech is American as apple pie. Instead with this, we get, questions, and well she was no angel...

It' almost as if the majority of people crying about free speech on the Internet don't really care about it and instead have ulterior motives. Who could have guessed?

 

[rjinaz]

It' almost as if the majority of people crying about free speech on the Internet don't really care about it and instead have ulterior motives. Who could have guessed?

Of course what it really comes down to is "I have the right to say I hate you for the way you were born but don't you dare say a bad word back". It's called privilege.

 

[F0rneus]

USA look at yourself. You are a piece of shit. Disgusting. And fuck Jeff Sessions. Racist piece of inhuman trash.

 

[Chirotera]

I can "see" the motivation behind a misogynist wanting to deprive women of equal treatment and rights - because they're fucking misogynists. What point are you trying to make here?



I don't know why she made the decision. I can speculate, though. As you pointed out earlier, she's an activist (which you imply is some kind of pejorative), so maybe her principles of fairness, justice and participatory democracy were prioritized over her own self-interest in this case. Maybe she recognized this arrest and prosecution as unjust actions by the State and acted accordingly.

Or maybe she didn't think the jury would be so fucking awful.

Or maybe she didn't do a single fucking thing wrong?

 

[rjinaz]

USA look at yourself. You are a piece of shit. Disgusting. And fuck Jeff Sessions. Racist piece of inhuman trash.

Yeah I don't get the people that get offended when people say America is shit. Fucking look at us. This is what we have become. In the end it doesn't matter how many Americans didn't want this, this is what we are. There is a lot of ugly in America, too goddamn much.

 

[Paine1791]

Or maybe she didn't do a single fucking thing wrong?

Yeah, I agree.

 

[HomerSimpson-Man]

WTF

This is all just a big WTF?!

What kind of police state horseshit is this!

 

[StarVigil]

Imagine living in a place where laughing at a man can result in jail time. But thank goodness this will never happen "here"

 

[Sweeney Tom]

@BlunderingIdiom
Sure, you may no longer qualify for health insurance, but remember, laughter is the best medicine! Also, laughter is illegal now.

 

[Tal Shiar Agent]

Trial balloon.

 

[Angelus Errare]

I misread that part. Thought her plea deal was rejected.

Why in the world would she reject their plea deal?

Because taking a plea deal when you did nothing wrong is the worst thing you can do.

Source: African Americans and Law Enforcement.

 

[tearsintherain]

She wasn't convicted for laughing, she was convicted for her actions when she was asked to leave.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...ressional-hearing_us_590929bbe4b05c39768420ef

The jurors felt that the police officer who took her into custody made a mistake in arresting her, but the way the laws were written it was pretty much impossible not to convict.

If anyone here has served on a jury you'd know sort of how it can go down, the judge instructs you to ignore personal prejudices and stuff, look at just the letter of the law and whether it was broken. You don't get any real wiggle room to decide if the law is stupid or not, and are told as such.

I guess there is some arcane law about disrupting congressional hearings or something, the whole thing sounds pretty crazy but its not just a simple matter of laughing out in public and getting thrown in jail.

There were 55 arrests in January of this year in Washington DC, specifically at Congress, for similar incidents. A sharp uptick from last year (0?).
http://www.nbcwashington.com/invest...Disrupting-Congress-in-January-412481533.html

 

[Da-Kid]

I once made a joke about giving a look on a community page on Facebook. Our job was laying all of us off so one of the employees made a community for us to help each other find jobs and keep up on what's going. Anyways there were reports of people's checks being messed up. I jokingly said if my check was messed up I would be looking at it in a way that describes being upset. Everyone got the joke, little did anyone know there was some corporate higher up watching the community in secret.

When I went to get my last check I was arrested for making a terroristic threat, when people found out they were in utter shock. When I arrived at the station the police chief immediately looked at me and alarmingly asked if I had a gun to the officers who took me in. I'm black so.. yeah I'm immediately assumed I had a gun. Anyway, the chief told me my charge and what it was for. I literally told him.. "Um... this is as clear as day a joke. I in no way threatened anyone's safety or even mention a person. I was describing a look in an exaggerated fashion." He looked at me and literally told me "I don't care what you meant."

Even the officers who took me in were like.. wait seriously?

So anyways six months later the DA offered me a deal for 3 days in jail, court fees, an anger management class, and a year probation...

Hell no, I fought it, and it was dismissed. Basically, don't ever underestimate the the insane stretches a DA will make to convict you. And always remember, a DA is trying to get as many convictions as possible just to have on their record.

 

[Sol Mori]

She wasn't convicted for laughing, she was convicted for her actions when she was asked to leave.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...ressional-hearing_us_590929bbe4b05c39768420ef

The jurors felt that the police officer who took her into custody made a mistake in arresting her, but the way the laws were written it was pretty much impossible not to convict.

If anyone here has served on a jury you'd know sort of how it can go down, the judge instructs you to ignore personal prejudices and stuff, look at just the letter of the law and whether it was broken. You don't get any real wiggle room to decide if the law is stupid or not, and are told as such.

I guess there is some arcane law about disrupting congressional hearings or something, the whole thing sounds pretty crazy but its not just a simple matter of laughing out in public and getting thrown in jail.

There were 55 arrests in January of this year in Washington DC, specifically at Congress, for similar incidents. A sharp uptick from last year (0?).
http://www.nbcwashington.com/invest...Disrupting-Congress-in-January-412481533.html

Two words, Jury Nullification, so you do get wiggle room to decide the law is stupid. You can return whichever verdict you, as a juror, so choose. The Judge can not instruct you to choose guilty or not guilty and can not punish you for your choice.

 

[AlimNassor]

She wasn't convicted for laughing, she was convicted for her actions when she was asked to leave.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...ressional-hearing_us_590929bbe4b05c39768420ef

The jurors felt that the police officer who took her into custody made a mistake in arresting her, but the way the laws were written it was pretty much impossible not to convict.

If anyone here has served on a jury you'd know sort of how it can go down, the judge instructs you to ignore personal prejudices and stuff, look at just the letter of the law and whether it was broken. You don't get any real wiggle room to decide if the law is stupid or not, and are told as such.

I guess there is some arcane law about disrupting congressional hearings or something, the whole thing sounds pretty crazy but its not just a simple matter of laughing out in public and getting thrown in jail.

There were 55 arrests in January of this year in Washington DC, specifically at Congress, for similar incidents. A sharp uptick from last year (0?).
http://www.nbcwashington.com/invest...Disrupting-Congress-in-January-412481533.html

Unfortunately nobody reads the articles so I doubt anyone will listen. Click-bait journalism runs amok and OT eats it right up.

She won't be going to jail. Most likely she gets fined and yelled at. People get arrested for it on a frequent basis. You can't just go into a private area get asked to leave and then make an issue of it and not expect to be arrested.

 

[Dalek]

I once made a joke about giving a look on a community page on Facebook. Our job was laying all of us off so one of the employees made a community for us to help each other find jobs and keep up on what's going. Anyways there were reports of people's checks being messed up. I jokingly said if my check was messed up I would be looking at it in a way that describes being upset. Everyone got the joke, little did anyone know there was some corporate higher up watching the community in secret.

When I went to get my last check I was arrested for making a terroristic threat, when people found out they were in utter shock. When I arrived at the station the police chief immediately looked at me and alarmingly asked if I had a gun to the officers who took me in. I'm black so.. yeah I'm immediately assumed I had a gun. Anyway, the chief told me my charge and what it was for. I literally told him.. "Um... this is as clear as day a joke. I in no way threatened anyone's safety or even mention a person. I was describing a look in an exaggerated fashion." He looked at me and literally told me "I don't care what you meant."

Even the officers who took me in were like.. wait seriously?

So anyways six months later the DA offered me a deal for 3 days in jail, court fees, an anger management class, and a year probation...

Hell no, I fought it, and it was dismissed. Basically, don't ever underestimate the the insane stretches a DA will make to convict you. And always remember, a DA is trying to get as many convictions as possible just to have on their record.

Holy shit

 

[Oblivion]

I once made a joke about giving a look on a community page on Facebook. Our job was laying all of us off so one of the employees made a community for us to help each other find jobs and keep up on what's going. Anyways there were reports of people's checks being messed up. I jokingly said if my check was messed up I would be looking at it in a way that describes being upset. Everyone got the joke, little did anyone know there was some corporate higher up watching the community in secret.

When I went to get my last check I was arrested for making a terroristic threat, when people found out they were in utter shock. When I arrived at the station the police chief immediately looked at me and alarmingly asked if I had a gun to the officers who took me in. I'm black so.. yeah I'm immediately assumed I had a gun. Anyway, the chief told me my charge and what it was for. I literally told him.. "Um... this is as clear as day a joke. I in no way threatened anyone's safety or even mention a person. I was describing a look in an exaggerated fashion." He looked at me and literally told me "I don't care what you meant."

Even the officers who took me in were like.. wait seriously?

So anyways six months later the DA offered me a deal for 3 days in jail, court fees, an anger management class, and a year probation...

Hell no, I fought it, and it was dismissed. Basically, don't ever underestimate the the insane stretches a DA will make to convict you. And always remember, a DA is trying to get as many convictions as possible just to have on their record.

Jeez. Our criminal justice system is so fucked. Glad you were okay.

She wasn't convicted for laughing, she was convicted for her actions when she was asked to leave.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...ressional-hearing_us_590929bbe4b05c39768420ef

The jurors felt that the police officer who took her into custody made a mistake in arresting her, but the way the laws were written it was pretty much impossible not to convict.

If anyone here has served on a jury you'd know sort of how it can go down, the judge instructs you to ignore personal prejudices and stuff, look at just the letter of the law and whether it was broken. You don't get any real wiggle room to decide if the law is stupid or not, and are told as such.

I guess there is some arcane law about disrupting congressional hearings or something, the whole thing sounds pretty crazy but its not just a simple matter of laughing out in public and getting thrown in jail.

There were 55 arrests in January of this year in Washington DC, specifically at Congress, for similar incidents. A sharp uptick from last year (0?).
http://www.nbcwashington.com/invest...Disrupting-Congress-in-January-412481533.html

This is still some major horseshit. No one should go to jail just for disruptions, especially if no one was hurt.

 

[Lo_Fi]

Sessions committed perjury and she's on trial before him because of laughing.

Laughing is more a crime than perjury.

You know what they say. Women are terrified of men killing them, men are afraid of women laughing at them.

 

[Fancyarcher]

Yeah I don't get the people that get offended when people say America is shit. Fucking look at us. This is what we have become. In the end it doesn't matter how many Americans didn't want this, this is what we are. There is a lot of ugly in America, too goddamn much.

Well people don't like being told that their "bad", truth or not, so it's not really surprising.

I'd say that applies to humanity in general, though. It's just sad.

 

[takriel]

Yeah I don't get the people that get offended when people say America is shit. Fucking look at us. This is what we have become. In the end it doesn't matter how many Americans didn't want this, this is what we are. There is a lot of ugly in America, too goddamn much.

I think it's healthy not to identify yourself too much with the average American citizen. You guys are all more than that!

 

[Deleted member 10571]

"Land of the free*"


*applies only if male and white

 

[Lord Frieza]

Unfortunately nobody reads the articles so I doubt anyone will listen. Click-bait journalism runs amok and OT eats it right up.

She won't be going to jail. Most likely she gets fined and yelled at. People get arrested for it on a frequent basis. You can't just go into a private area get asked to leave and then make an issue of it and not expect to be arrested.

Nothing about that article changes anything.

 

[Makonero]

"Land of the free*"


*applies only if male and white

and/or wealthy

 

[Slackbladder]

Ironic really, considering how America has become such a joke.

 

[devilhawk]

"Land of the free*"


*applies only if male and white

Or, you know, you actually read the news and find out that two other protestors at the very same hearing were also arrested. They were male and white.

http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/331790-code-pink-activist-found-guilty-for-disrupting-sessions-confirmation

Edit: Shit, it is actually mentioned in the OP too lol.

 

[Lord Frieza]

Or, you know, you actually read the news and find out that two other protestors at the very same hearing were also arrested. They were male and white.

http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/331790-code-pink-activist-found-guilty-for-disrupting-sessions-confirmation

Lol, I mean, those guys I can understand. I don't think they should be charged either, but I get it, because that actually is disrupting even if it's totally appropriate

 

[ElBoxyBrown]

A rapist can serve 3 months in jail but laughing in court could get you a year. How low can we go?

 

[BaasRed]

What is the case against laughing?! Was her lawyer drunk?

 

[Journeywalker]

Unfortunately nobody reads the articles so I doubt anyone will listen. Click-bait journalism runs amok and OT eats it right up.

You can't just go into a private area get asked to leave and then make an issue of it and not expect to be arrested.

It's not a private area. This is more like accidentally laughing in a court room.

And yes, I read the article. But anyone with a brain can see that this is a case of an administration using the letter of the law to subvert the spirit of the law, specifically the FIrst Ammendment. And their goal was to make an example out of a 61 year old woman who only started protesting when she was being physically removed.

 

[Kinyou]

It's not a private area. This is more like accidentally laughing in a court room.

And yes, I read the article. But anyone with a brain can see that this is a case of an administration using the letter of the law to subvert the spirit of the law, specifically the FIrst Ammendment. And their goal was to make an example out of a 61 year old woman who only started protesting when she was being physically removed.

While it's sounds shitty to remove someone for laughing (not knowing how loud or intentional it was), you don't really have any ground to stand on once you're asked to leave. Like you said, it's similar to a courtroom.

That said, I remember that court case from a few weeks ago where the judge had a woman face jail time for laughing but then also let it slide once she apologized.
http://m.neogaf.com/showthread.php?t=1348705

That this is taken to court feels unnecessary.

 

[Jackpot]

Meanwhile

There is hope for the next generation.
College students shouldn't be sheltered from dissenting opinion.
College is where a person goes to get more dissenting opinions since hearing other opinions causes learning.

oh, so he's just a massive hypocrite who only uses the "muh free speech" excuse to try and spread racism. Quelle surprise.

 

[Journeywalker]

While it's sounds shitty to remove someone for laughing (not knowing how loud or intentional it was), you don't really have any ground to stand on once you're asked to leave. Like you said, it's similar to a courtroom.

That this is taken to court feels unnecessary.

Snopes Article

You can see the video there.

 

[jay]

She wasn't convicted for laughing, she was convicted for her actions when she was asked to leave.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...ressional-hearing_us_590929bbe4b05c39768420ef

The jurors felt that the police officer who took her into custody made a mistake in arresting her, but the way the laws were written it was pretty much impossible not to convict.

If anyone here has served on a jury you'd know sort of how it can go down, the judge instructs you to ignore personal prejudices and stuff, look at just the letter of the law and whether it was broken. You don't get any real wiggle room to decide if the law is stupid or not, and are told as such.

This is legal but the justice system is hostile to it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jury_nullification

 

[Lord Frieza]

oh, so he's just a massive hypocrite who only uses the "muh free speech" excuse to try and spread racism. Quelle surprise.

Well, yeah, it diablos. I don't know how he managed not to get banned during the election, all he did was spread massive amounts of misinformation about what was going on. He's awful

 

[moggio]

Hopefully this will make laughing at Sessions at public appearances a thing.

 

[Bleepey]

#LesMajesteInTheUsa

 

[Kinyou]

Snopes Article

You can see the video there.

Okay that's really ridiculous. I thought it would be something more obvious or distracting.

 

[AlimNassor]

It's not a private area. This is more like accidentally laughing in a court room.

And yes, I read the article. But anyone with a brain can see that this is a case of an administration using the letter of the law to subvert the spirit of the law, specifically the FIrst Ammendment. And their goal was to make an example out of a 61 year old woman who only started protesting when she was being physically removed.

When you're told to leave ; you leave. You don't make a big scene and not expect consequences. People in this thread are hysterical acting as though she was forcibly removed for laughing when that was not the case at hand. This sin't a rare thing as it happens all the time. The media wanting hits ran this as though she was a victim preyed upon by the tyrannical Sessions.

 

[Tovarisc]

Going to jail for laughing in public place? Holy shit... Justice system of US is fucking scary if moronic shit like this passes. No one stopped to think for a second fuck they are doing here?

 

[diablos991]

oh, so he's just a massive hypocrite who only uses the "muh free speech" excuse to try and spread racism. Quelle surprise.

Dissenting opinion is very far from disrupting congressional hearings.

She could have easily shared her dissenting opinion and been protected by law.

 

[Kinsei]

When you're told to leave ; you leave. You don't make a big scene and not expect consequences. People in this thread are hysterical acting as though she was forcibly removed for laughing when that was not the case at hand. This sin't a rare thing as it happens all the time. The media wanting hits ran this as though she was a victim preyed upon by the tyrannical Sessions.

She shouldn't have been told to leave in the first place.

 

[many places]

I thought liberals were supposed to be the ones that are easily offended

It looks like the republicans were the snowflakes all along.

 

[kingslunk]

She shouldn't have been told to leave in the first place.

"Rookie cop made the mistake"