I wonder what Troy would have to say about it all.
You are probably not going to like much of what I have to say about it.
Bad business practices are not criminal just because charges are brought. Just because someone has lost money as a result of someone else's conduct does not mean that a crime has occurred. Business disputes ought not be settled in criminal courts.
Spitzer reads like the classic government bully -- just the risk of an allegation or charges from him brings people to their knees. This kind of power often results in abuse and misuse of the power. Far too often, however, there is so much more to a story than what makes it way into the press and this may be just a situation. The jury apparently thought so.
Obviously, neither of us saw the evidence at trial (at least I did not), but to acquit someone on that many counts, the jury must have thought that there was serious doubt about whether a crime had occurred. I know that the theory is that juries are supposed to acquit even if they think a crime happened just because they have a reasonable doubt. But, in reality, it is rare for jury's to actually do so. Far more often, they follow and vote their guts.
I suspect that over the coming weeks we may get to hear from some of the jurors and then we will know more about what they really thought. For now, however, it is not a good day for Spritzer. It is, however, a good day for America because the system worked -- not because they found him not guilty, but because they heard the evidence and made a decision (at least on all but four counts and it appears they were very close on the remaining four).
Troy
Those who shoot from the hip usually end up just shooting themselves.
Plan the grub and grub the plan.
Where is the party tonight? Who is bringng the drinks?
