1 Cor 10:12
12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.
A small breakthrough in March as courts were beginning to shut down. There was a Net Nanny case (WA State) which was dismissed “in the interest of justice.” This was done by the prosecutor, not the judge. Earlier in the year the Judge heard the motion for dismissal and said NO. We have also seen more mistrials (hung juries) in these cases. One sad fellow has going through TWO mistrials and faces a THIRD trial–we will watch that one closely. Most (75%) won’t take it to trial but some whom have are doing better. The most recent NN sting (#18) also arrested far less people (7) and appears to have dropped charged on several (3) of them. I’m hopeful these will slowly come to an end. However, it doesn’t help that the Federal Government (ICAC) funding continues to feed states $500k+ a year. They need to meet their numbers and these stings help do that to continue the funding. I can’t point and say this is corrupt but it does boarder on some major ethical boundary.
On the Appeal side of things in WA state regarding these Net Nanny stings things are not going well with 3 new cases in April all coming back affirmed. It is a long road full of loss–the law is the law. The way we beat the law is to CHANGE the LAW.
As the courts gear up in June I will continue to watch these cases and appeals–several big ones coming up. Stay tuned, things will get better as people become informed about the questionable methods being used to Catfish people via these sting operations.
I will continue the battle, Samuel