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Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Maricopa Madness, Part II

Since my last post, I have been to Pittsburgh and back, carrying a large sofa set in the back of my van. Fitting those sofa pieces into that van was a triumph of packing, one that I will carry for the rest of my days as a point of pride.

Indeed, I think the packing analogy seems to fit what is going on not only with Maricopa County prosecutors, but with American prosecutors in general. They have an institution called a court, and they have a jumbled bunch of information, and then they proceed to pack all of that information into what is called a criminal case.

Now, there are times when the information fits better than O.J.'s glove (lots better), and the case is obvious: the accused did it. There are other times when it is clear enough that the accused did it, but getting to a point of trial and a conviction takes some creativity, as the fellow and I had to employ in order to make everything fit.

And, then there are times when prosecutors engage in conduct for which the only analogy can be the venerable "I'll make it fit!" advertisement that Midas Mufflers ran many years ago on television. If anything can describe what Andrew Thomas, Lisa Aubuchon, and, to a lesser degree, Rachel Alexander have done in their prosecutorial tenure in Maricopa County, I think Midas ad "fits" better than anything else (to use an ironic term). Indeed, I don't have to make the case for disbarment fit at all; it is obvious to anyone who looks into this situation that these three miscreants do not need to be in positions of power and authority. They should be in jail.

What exactly did the Unholy Trinity do to have an investigator for the Arizona State Bar recommend that the man who narrowly missed winning the Republican primary for Arizona attorney general (and most likely would have won the general election) should have his law license taken away, along with his two partners-in-crime?

Thomas and Aubuchon worked together to indict and prosecute people who were political enemies of the infamous sheriff of Maricopa County, Joe Arpaio, as well as being seemingly vulnerable to abusive prosecutions.

The investigator's report is available here. The Phoenix New Times describes some of the allegations as follows:
A "reckless, four-year campaign of corruption and power abuse."

That's how retired Judge Charles E. Jones categorized the evidence against ex-County Attorney Andrew Thomas and his one-time hatchet-woman, former Deputy County Attorney Lisa Aubuchon, in probable-cause statements filed today that could lead to disbarment for both lawyers.

Jones also slammed the pair's legal rampage as wasteful to the taxpayers and vindictive in the extreme.

"Motivation for much of the alleged impropriety appears retaliatory," noted Jones, "intended to do personal harm to the reputations of Judges, County Supervisors, and other county officials.

"Actions by Respondent appear intent on intimidation, focused on political gain, and appear fully disconnected from professional and prosecutorial standards long associated with the administration of justice, particularly criminal justice."
I remember when the North Carolina State Bar filed charges against Mike Nifong, charges that ultimately led to his disbarment. Like Nifong, Thomas, Aubuchon, and Alexander have claimed that the whole thing is nothing more than a "political witch hunt" in which the Unholy Trinity is being good conservatives who only care about law and order and good government. These are people who have scoffed at the law or who have de facto declared themselves to be the law.

Furthermore, these three were the darlings of the Christian conservatives and the hard right of Arizona. (Alexander -- with her brother -- runs a blog called Intellectual Conservative which claims to be at least somewhat libertarian, although you could have fooled me.)

No doubt, many of the Usual Suspects (Arizona Right to Life, Focus on the Family, and other such groups) will claim that the "liberal establishment" is out to get these fine, upstanding Christians. As a theologically conservative evangelical (out of the Reformed camp), I had always thought that the Scriptures told people to do justice, not to make it up as they went along.

In fact, if the standards of Old Testament Law were applied to the behavior of the Unholy Trinity, they would be facing a mob that would be preparing to stone them into eternity. One cannot lie and "do justice." One cannot knowingly bring false charges and "do justice." One cannot go on moral crusades against innocent people and "do justice."

If you want to understand just how dishonest and vindictive the Unholy Trinity really are, read about the Matt Bandy case in which Thomas turned all of his tax-funded guns loose on a 16-year-old boy with no criminal record. It is absolutely clear that Thomas really did not care if Bandy was guilty or innocent of downloading child pornography on his computer. He just wanted to look good so people like James Dobson and Gary Bauer and their allies would declare him to be a hero "saving the children."

The culture of lying and abuse that pervaded Andrew Thomas' office when he was County Attorney of Maricopa County has managed to outlive Thomas' reign of terror. As Carola Jacobson has found, prosecutors in Maricopa County really don't care about guilt or innocence or even the truth. They just wanted to win, period, no matter what the costs and no matter if the innocent were destroyed.

THAT is the legacy of Andrew Thomas, Lisa Aubuchon, and Rachel Alexander. I do hope they enjoy their post-legal careers and only wish that they could enjoy their tarnished years while residing in the Crowbar Motel, which is where they belong.

9 comments:

liberranter said...

I do hope they enjoy their post-legal careers and only wish that they could enjoy their tarnished years while residing in the Crowbar Motel, which is where they belong.

Given the deeply entrenched nature of political corruption in Arizona, it's very likely that all three of these criminal scumbags will find very lucrative careers as "political consultants," or some similar form of sinecure, to the state's Power Elite.

Brett Middleton said...

Sadly, Judge Jones appears to be concerned only with the abuses the "Unholy Trinity" heaped on other members of the political classes (judges, county supervisors, etc.) while they had the upper hand. No concern is expressed about the peasants -- the Matt Bandys and Carola Jacobsons -- who were abused by the system. Jones doesn't so much have a problem with Thomas' actions as with the motives behind them. It appears that Thomas' former political victims are simply getting their own retribution, not really trying to address the failure of the system with respect to doing justice. A falling out among farmers does not change the fate of the cows.

William L. Anderson said...

Brett,

You are correct, sir! This seems to be score settling rather than a real push for justice, given that Carola has had to deal with the same arrogance and dishonesty that always has been part of that culture.

Andrew Thomas inherited the culture, and then upped the ante. Along the way, he messed with the wrong people. But, whatever happens to him is not enough, as the guy is a crook through and through.

Carola said...

Andrew Thomas ran on a platform of being tough on child pornography and child molesters. Not because he cares about any victim but because it wins elections. It plays of the very instict that (most of us) humans have which is to protect children.

Child pornography and child molestations have become a political game, this is how you win elections. Thomas and Aubuchon were ones who hired and/or mentored the current prosecutors, their mindset is continued in the current staff of the MCAO.

Of course, no one wants to let a child molester go scott free and let them snatch the next child. There are massive amounts of money in scaring the public about child molesters. It sounds like we have a pervert hiding behind every bush in our neighborhoods. Of course, every child that gets victimized is one child too many. By the other token, we should make sure that we get things right and not destroy innocent people's lives by using them as a political football.

Unfortunately, once someone gets accused of being a child molester, most people will throw out critical thinking and prosecutors office has an easy game in vilifying those who are accused, regardless of guilt or innocence, because we all know that the police always gets it right and no one who is innocent will ever be arrested, right?

The mere accusation of child molestation makes you and your family outcasts. You have to come up with massive amounts of money to defeat a corrupt system that doesn't care about truth or justice, nor does it care about the victims. (For the record, I do believe that the two 9-year olds are being victimized, not by my son but by the parents, the police and the prosecutors).

For those who are trying to change the system it almost becomes political suicide because it will open the door for your opponent to throw dirt at you, claiming you are protecting child molesters.

Those politicians who are still honorable people, like in AZ, Rep. Cecil Ash fight an uphill battle in making common sense changes and run the risk to be destroyed by less than honorable people.

Most people who are accused of child molestation are afraid to speak out because of the nature of the allegations as most people won't believe that you are innocent, thus the Andrew Thomas' and Lisa Aubuchons of this world have an easy game. It is very difficult to not give into the school yard bullying because after months and months of fighting back there are those days where you just want your life back and be able to take your kids to a movie, a restaurant or just plain shopping for clothes.

I truly hope that once this is over, my son's story will contribute to making changes in system and hopefully some good will come out of this and make people aware that things are oftn not what they seem and that we all need to learn again to ask questions and stand up for what is right.

Q.A. said...

A most moving Declaration from Carola - a mother who has been to Hell but is not yet back.

Doc Ellis 124 said...

Greetings Dr Anderson

Thank you for writing this

Doc Ellis 124

Anonymous said...

Carola, just know that you & your family are still in many of our prayers. I pray for your strength! You & your son will overcome this, I truly believe that. Just the fact they are trying the old "diversion" tactic, proves they are losing. You need to stay so strong & fight to the end. Once all is over, I would love for you all to move away from there. A fresh start will be much needed and especially since your son has to deal with so much. I don't believe in running from your problems, but these problems were set forth by dirty people & I so want your son to have a chance at normalcy. MC will never give you all that opportunity.

Your comment was awesome & it shows that you are in it for the long haul, but I also sensed a feeling of fatigue. I don't blame you, but just lean on God & we little people in the blogosphere. Get on here & tell us what you want us to pray for if there is something specific that needs to be covered. I always pray for your peace, sanity & victory, but if we need to be more specific, I'm sure all of us would be more than willing. I know there are things you can not say, but just if there is a court date or something of public knowledge, please lean on us.

Keep staying strong as I know you are & victory will be yours.

God Bless you, your family & especially your son. 2011 is right around the corner & hopefully, they will give up their bogus "fight" soon. In many people's eyes, you guys have already won, but need to cross the tape at the finish line.

UGA Mom

Carola said...

Thank you for your kind words, UGA Mom!!! The support we receive from here and people like you means a lot to my kids and me!

You are right, there are days that I am getting very tired and frustrated. This has affected every area of my life as well as other people. But it is what it is. And will not let those school yard bullies get away with their lies and deceipt. They have for too long and on too many other occassions.

Trish said...

Carola, hang in there,sadly justice is slow and so many give up because of that. You have a lot of people supporting you and praying for you.