While your larger point goes well beyond this particular instance, you are aware that when a person pleads guilty they enter into the public record an allocution that specifies exactly what they admit were their improper actions. Allocutions are points of negotiation between prosecutors and defendants and judges have occasionally determined the allocution was insufficient and require the defendant to provide greater detail/expression of remorse, etc.
An example of an allocution would be Bernie Madoff's: http://www.scribd.com/doc/13219846/Bernard-Madoffs-Plea-Allocution We never got the back and forth of claim and counter claim of prosecutor and defendant, but we have Madoff describing what he did to the extent the prosecutors and judge required him and that his lawyers allowed him. Granted, it isn't out there in the media record, but it exists and can be accessed by interested persons. Your larger point about opinion and conversation is still very appropriate, though I wonder what the psychological content is. Paul Bernhardt Dept of Psychology Frostburg State University pcbernhardt _at_ frostburg _dot_ edu On Mar 10, 2010, at 10:10 AM, Mike Palij wrote: > Yet, there typically is no formal investigation or > attempt to establish what actually happened. The recent > David Letterman case of attempted "extortion" by Robert > Halderman and the plea deal that he took is a case in point: > what actually happened? Do people think that they know what > happened on the basis of news or other media reports? Or > does the illusion of understanding develop because people > may think they know/understand the situation, can "read between > the lines" and infer what is not being said, and conclude that they > know the real motivations of the actors involved? --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=1183 or send a blank email to leave-1183-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
