New York Protests
Eugene Volokh rightly criticizes a corespondent for his ad-hominum attacks on NYC Mayor Bloomberg, who said (I’m quoting Volokh):
But Bloomberg insisted that there’s no proof that the NYPD did anything wrong. “There is absolutely no evidence whatsoever that there was any intent by any law-enforcement official to hold people any longer than was absolutely necessary to process them,” he said before marching in the Mexican Day Parade on Madison Avenue.
Bloomberg pointed out that many protesters who were arrested have already pleaded guilty. “I suspect that most of them [did so] because they know they don’t have a case,” he said. “They broke the law . . . They might as well just plead guilty and go on.”
But Bloomberg should know that the city was found in contempt of court for its processing.
See MSNBC: “Police carted Pincus to a holding cell topped with razor wire and held him for 25 hours without access to a lawyer.” and “The first mass arrests came three days before the Aug. 30 to Sept. 2 convention, when police swooped down on Critical Mass, a loosely knit collective of bicyclists who periodically flood city streets and slow traffic. Police usually tolerate the disruption, but that night officers arrested more than 200. Kelly told New York magazine that he wanted to send protesters a message.” (Emphasis mine.)
Newsday quotes Legal Aid attorney Michelle Maxian as saying “The mayor himself has admitted that in the pens, they caught both innocent and guilty people. Police will be unable to distinguish which was which. And most people were not actually violating the law.”
So while invective may not be needed, it certainly seems that Bloomberg knows who doesn’t have a case, and it’s not the protesters.
The people who will pay for this aren’t just the protesters and the innocent people caught in literal police drag-nets, but the taxpayers of New York, when the city is rightfully sued for the behavior of the police.
“Just Plead Guilty” Charges Dropped
I made the mistake of alerting Professor Volokh of Bloomberg’s outrageous statement. I miscalculated Volokh’s response. Well, he who laughs last…