Who flunked 8th grade civics?

I wanted to post something about Luis Posada Carriles because the Cuban government is jumping up and down and protesting a judge's recent decision to dismiss the immigration fraud charges against him. Among the clever PR stunts that the regime is undertaking is a "mock trial" of Posada in absentia. But I think that what gets lost in the rhetoric are the fundamental differences between the legal system in the US and that of many other countries in the world, including Cuba.

First off is the separation of powers. The judge's decision to let Posada walk on the immigration charges is in no way a reflection of the Bush administration. Any conjecture to the contrary shows a complete ignorance of the way our system works and the actual facts of the case.

It was the Bush administration (the executive branch) that was trying its hardest to keep Posada behind bars at every step of the proceedings in this case. Despite losing motion after motion, the government kept appealing and finding ways to keep Posada behind bars. The judge finally said "enough" and in her decision said the government had abused its power in Posada's case and that any defendant found guilty of all the charges that he was accused of (the immigration fraud charges) would have already been free based on time served.

Secondly, in the US there is presumption of innocence. Despite evidence that may appear on the surface as overwhelmingly damning, a defendent is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. It speaks volumes that the US government has not yet indicted Posada of anything more serious than immigration fraud. Regardless of what you may personally think about Posada, the government has a responsibility to bring a legitimate case against Posada if it wants to keep him behind bars. That's the principal of habeas corpus.

Thirdly, in the US we have something called double jeopardy, or actually we don't have it. That means if you are acquitted of a crime, you can't be tried for the same crime again. This makes it even more important for the government to have a sound case against a defendant because they are only going to get one crack to try the case. Sometimes the guilty go free (like OJ Simpson) but that's the price we pay to ensure the government doesn't overstep its bounds with arbitrary prosecutions and re-prosecutions. In a case like this, which has many political ramifications, that becomes doubly important. Why do I mention double jeopardy if Posada has never been brought to trial in the US? Well, because he was brought to trial (in a Military court in Venezuela) on the most serious of the allegations against him (involvement in the 1976 bombing of a Cubana airliner) and was acquitted. Later a judge threw out the acquittal on the basis that the military court didn't have jurisdiction. His case was referred to a civilian court. He spent about 10 years behind bars in Venezuela without ever being convicted of anything, before he escaped. Which reminds us of our constitutional guarantees to a speedy public trial.

So what's the point? The point is that what Cuba and Venezuela want is for Posada to be deported to one of those two countries where none of these legal principles is respected. The judicial process in both countries is highly politicized and is not truly independent of the executive. One is a defacto dictatorship and the other is blatantly a dictatorship.

What results is an admittedly uncomfortable situation for the Bush administration because an alleged terrorist is walking around free in our country (after countless months behind bars). But discomfort is not a reason to throw out our entire legal system or throw an accused man to the waiting wolves of Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro.

The fact is that true liberals should be apalled at how the government behaved in its treatment of Posada on the immigration fraud charges. This the type of arbitrary exercise in power that liberals claim to be against when they lobby against things like the Patriot Act. But because Posada is an enemy of Castro they close a blind eye toward it and ironically accuse the same Bush administration that's trying to put the guy away of coddling terrorists.

Posted by Henry Louis Gomez at May 15, 2007 11:52 AM

Comments

Posted by: Tony V at May 15, 2007 02:07 PM

Posted by: Henry "Conductor" Gomez at May 15, 2007 02:32 PM

Posted by: Tony V at May 15, 2007 07:18 PM