(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



Judge Engoron Proves We Have A Two Tier Justice System. [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2023-11-06

I have to thank Judge Engoron for one thing today. He proved that the American judicial system definitely has two tiers. The wealthy and powerful obtain special treatment in our courts, while Joe Blow’s like the rest of us will have a gavel pounded into our skulls. For the umpteenth time, Donald Trump was able to insult a judge to his face in a court room, and nothing happened, except the judge got angry. Judge Engoron doesn’t want to make some legal mistake during this civil trial that will provide Trump with the grounds for an appeal. How else to explain the fireworks and farce in the court room toay? But this leads to the obvious question: “Why does Trump get special consideration for acting like a toddler when it comes to a judicial appeal?”

If one of us on Daily Kos had acted like Trump in a court room, we would be cooling our heels in jail. And no one would care whether or not we had grounds for an appeal. And the lack of concern is simply because we don’t have the money or the pull with an appeals court.

Here’s CNN’s write up of Trump’s testimony, and it will make your blood boil:

New York CNN — Donald Trump brought bombastic rhetoric to the witness stand Monday in the civil fraud case against him and his business, as he spent his time on the stand attacking the New York attorney general who brought the case and the judge overseeing the trial itself. Trump’s testimony at times mimicked his appearances on the campaign trail, where the former president has made the four criminal cases against him – along with the New York attorney general’s civil fraud case – a central part of his argument to be elected president again in 2024. Judge Arthur Engoron, who has clashed with Trump throughout the trial, at first tried to stop the former president’s political barbs and speechifying, telling his lawyer Chris Kise to “control your client” and threatening to have Trump removed as a witness. Eventually, the judge stropped trying to control Trump – he and the attorney general’s lawyer questioning Trump let him rant, and then mostly disregarded the missives.

Emphasis is mine.

They just let Trump keep going and going. Anyone else think a judge would have allowed your average American to get away with that in court? I was in an administrative law judge’s hearing once, and I tried to explain what was going on with an unemployment case I had applied for. The judge told me he didn’t want to hear my explanation for why my unemployment case was so screwed up. He just wanted me to answer “Yes” or “No” to his questions. Period.

But nope. Trump can just go on and on. In fact, Kise, Trump’s lawyer, claimed that Trump had the RIGHT to talk all he wanted because he was a former president!

Trump’s rhetoric prompts an angry response from the judge Engoron tried at the outset of Trump’s testimony to stop the former president from making speeches and instead answer the questions, but it did little to change Trump’s approach. The judge responded by threatening to remove Trump from the witness stand, though that didn’t deter the former president either. “This is not a political rally,” Engoron said to Trump, telling Kise to “control your client.” Kise responded by arguing to Engoron to let Trump speak. At one point, Kise called his client’s answers “brilliant.” “The court needs to hear what he has to say about these statements,” Kise said. “He’s describing to you about why there was no intent to mislead anyone with his answers. That’s what he’s doing.” Engoron did not agree. “I am not here to hear what he has to say,” Engoron said, raising his voice and telling Trump attorney Alina Habba and Kise to sit down. “We are here to hear him answer questions, and most of the time he’s not.” Before the testimony could resume, Trump weighed in. “”This is a very unfair trial. Very, very and I hope the public is watching,” he said. After a morning break, Engoron took on a more passive role in policing Trump’s statements. He told Wallace that he was following his lead on Trump’s answers, “if you want to let the witness ramble on, nonresponsive, repeat himself.” Of course, antagonizing the judge will only get Trump so far in the trial: The civil action is a non-jury trial, so Engoron will decide the outcome.

That’s just what that administrative judge said to me in my case! Too bad Judge Engoron didn’t just bitch slap Trump and throw him in jail for contempt. But nope. According to the legal analysts, this is like some damn baseball game. Trump gets to play the judge like the umpire. He can get in his face and call him all kinds of names. And the judge has to take this because he cannot make some legal mistake.

What great constitutional or legal question is there in having a witness piss on the judge in court? Is there something in the law that says a former president can insult the presiding judge? I’d love to see that statute.

We will see this conduct continue with Trump? YES. Now, the legal analysts have stated that Trump would be a fool if he ever took the stand in his criminal trials. Therefore, you can forget hearing Trump calling Judge Chutkan unfair “and always ruling against me!” from the witness stand.

Instead, Trump will go outside the court and scream his insults and complaints to the media.

It’s going to happen. It’s a question of “When?” not “IF?” Trump is going to go to far, and what will the so called judicial system do then? If the judicial system doesn’t want Trump to continue to treat it like toilet paper, some judge is going to have jail Trump for contempt.

The Earth won’t shatter if that ever happens. The plagues of Egypt won’t befall us. Dogs won’t be sleeping with cats. An elderly immature sociopath will just have gotten a little accountability for his inherent contempt of the justice system is all.

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/11/6/2204058/-Judge-Engoron-Proves-We-Have-A-Two-Tier-Justice-System?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=latest_community&pm_medium=web

Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/