Will public outrage be enough to sway a prosecutor? That's not the impression I have based on 14 years in Madison. I contacted the DA's office about the Tracy Sorum hung jury, asking for a new trial. The Prosecutor told me their decision would be based entirely on their assessment of how likely it would be to win the case in front of a new jury, not on how many people call to demand a retrial. Likewise, I have been told by a City of Madison police captain that the department's decision to even issue a citation is governed to a significant degree by the trial history of the infraction in question. If jurors have demonstrated a pattern of finding defendants innocent in an identifiable instance, the Police will stop issuing a citation for instances that match the pattern.
It would also be a mistake to characterize the Police as "lazy" for deciding not to enforce a law in circumstances you find questionable. I took a state class on bicycle safety that was attended heavily by law enforcement personnel. It was obvious to me that they were hard workers and felt a strong sense of duty. The problem is that their perspective on what is right and wrong is skewed by their experience on the road exclusively as a driver. As an example, one of the group exercises I participated in was reviewing crash reports from the city of Madison. The examples that were chosen demonstrated a lapse for both the bicyclist and the driver. The officers in my group had a tendency to find fault with the bicyclist and downplay the fault of the driver. > Do you think a blog is a reason to end advocacy for protection of bicyclists? I never said I wanted to end advocacy for the protection of bicyclists. My point on this topic is to question the effectiveness of trying to pass a new law when faced with what I see as a hostile legislature and Governor, and with a public who I believe will interpret the law in a way that maximizes their "freedom" to use the roads without having to try harder than they already do to drive safely. I find it surprising that someone who serves at the pleasure of the bicyclists of the state of Wisconsin would have a tendency to categorize feedback from a fellow bicyclist in the way you have. -Matt -----Original Message----- From: William Hauda Sent: Monday, December 10, 2012 1:25 PM Subject: Re: [Bikies] Need for vulnerable user law [snip] Most prosecutors will use them. If there is enough outrage expressed when they don't, they'll no longer have their jobs. _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org
