Although I have never been all that fond of Mirkarimi as a politician, I have been absolutely appalled by what has been taking place in San Francisco Superior Court. I'm sure that it affords him little consolation, but having experienced much worse abuses myself I felt compelled to reach out and support him.
Hi Ross,
Although I admit we were never exactly big political advocates of
yours as a member of the Board of Supervisors even before Tenderloin
Housing Clinic backed Russ Giuntini and the local tabloid that the
SFDA's office funnels its sealed affidavits through decided to dub us
"the landlords from hell" thus ousting us from polite society, it
makes us furious what you're being put through. One simply doesn't
treat people like that. Besides the fact that domestic violence as a
separate act shouldn't exist - it should either be prosecuted as
assault or nothing, and besides the fact that it is essentially
victimising the woman again in several ways: a) threatening her
welfare by threatening yours b) stripping her of the right to
self-determination by prosecuting the case against her will c)
stripping her of her privacy by putting everything she has said or
done on the front cover of the paper, this is fundamentally an effort
to subvert the democratic process. You evidently made the mistake of
running a successful campaign against the person being supported by
the in-crowd. This recurring abuse of the "justice system" to foster
the financial or political advancement of the more politically
connected is, for lack of a better word, disgusting.
Lacking the deep pockets to provide a balanced viewpoint and
accountability in the court we had little choice but to leave after
having watched the judges break the law one too many times. With your
future welfare tied to local politics and the comparative financial
cost of defending your case being much less than mine was, it is in
part easier for you to fight it out and you have much more reason to
do so. I hope you are able to endure the emotional tribulations and
not bow down or make any concessions. Furthermore, I hope that,
regardless of the outcome, you will not turn the other cheek, but
instead find a way to discourage this sort of behaviour in the future.
And perhaps once it is all over you can find out for me why it isn't
fraud for a prosecutor to prevent the exoneration of 500,000$ bond on
the grounds that "he intends to extradite" when he clearly has no
intention to do so. Enriching the city's coffers is no more part of
his mandate than help making sure the "right person" is sheriff.
Once upon a time the US was a guiding light for the world, but looking
around at how Italy and Switzerland handle re-integration and
re-socialization of those who have been in their correctional systems,
and seeing some of the checks that they have on feral prosecutors, it
is clear that the US has fallen far behind the rest of the developed
world. I hope that you will learn from what you have been put through
and at least in some small part make an effort at reforms for the sake
of others.
Best Wishes,
Kip Macy
Please see my follow up on domestic violence prosecution and prosecutorial discretion.
Hi Ross,
Although I admit we were never exactly big political advocates of
yours as a member of the Board of Supervisors even before Tenderloin
Housing Clinic backed Russ Giuntini and the local tabloid that the
SFDA's office funnels its sealed affidavits through decided to dub us
"the landlords from hell" thus ousting us from polite society, it
makes us furious what you're being put through. One simply doesn't
treat people like that. Besides the fact that domestic violence as a
separate act shouldn't exist - it should either be prosecuted as
assault or nothing, and besides the fact that it is essentially
victimising the woman again in several ways: a) threatening her
welfare by threatening yours b) stripping her of the right to
self-determination by prosecuting the case against her will c)
stripping her of her privacy by putting everything she has said or
done on the front cover of the paper, this is fundamentally an effort
to subvert the democratic process. You evidently made the mistake of
running a successful campaign against the person being supported by
the in-crowd. This recurring abuse of the "justice system" to foster
the financial or political advancement of the more politically
connected is, for lack of a better word, disgusting.
Lacking the deep pockets to provide a balanced viewpoint and
accountability in the court we had little choice but to leave after
having watched the judges break the law one too many times. With your
future welfare tied to local politics and the comparative financial
cost of defending your case being much less than mine was, it is in
part easier for you to fight it out and you have much more reason to
do so. I hope you are able to endure the emotional tribulations and
not bow down or make any concessions. Furthermore, I hope that,
regardless of the outcome, you will not turn the other cheek, but
instead find a way to discourage this sort of behaviour in the future.
And perhaps once it is all over you can find out for me why it isn't
fraud for a prosecutor to prevent the exoneration of 500,000$ bond on
the grounds that "he intends to extradite" when he clearly has no
intention to do so. Enriching the city's coffers is no more part of
his mandate than help making sure the "right person" is sheriff.
Once upon a time the US was a guiding light for the world, but looking
around at how Italy and Switzerland handle re-integration and
re-socialization of those who have been in their correctional systems,
and seeing some of the checks that they have on feral prosecutors, it
is clear that the US has fallen far behind the rest of the developed
world. I hope that you will learn from what you have been put through
and at least in some small part make an effort at reforms for the sake
of others.
Best Wishes,
Kip Macy
Please see my follow up on domestic violence prosecution and prosecutorial discretion.