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Dick Cheney Shoots A Man During A Hunting Trip (pg. 4)
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| MisterOpus1 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Q5echo
really?
there's no moral quandry here for you whatsoever? |
Eh? What's morality have to do with this? I was asking a question on legality. If the man dies, does Cheney get charged with anything?
Pretty straightforward question that I have no information on. |
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| pkcRAISTLIN |
| can someone explain to me why its such a fvcking big deal? a private citizen, on private land, was involved in a hunting accident. why this furore on not letting the media know for 24 hrs? i dont see the problem. since when are the private activities of state servants *automatically* the public domain?? |
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| occrider |
| quote: | Originally posted by MisterOpus1
Eh? What's morality have to do with this? I was asking a question on legality. If the man dies, does Cheney get charged with anything?
Pretty straightforward question that I have no information on. |
To answer your question:
| quote: |
Cheney Could Face Charges in Shooting By MATT CURRY, Associated Press Writer
18 minutes ago
DALLAS - If the man wounded by Dick Cheney dies, the vice president could — in theory at least — face criminal charges, even though the shooting was an accident.
Dallas defense attorney David Finn, who has been a state and a federal prosecutor, said Wednesday that a Texas grand jury could bring a charge of criminally negligent homicide if there is evidence the vice president knew or should have known "there was a substantial or unjustifiable risk that his actions would result in him shooting a fellow hunter."
To indict Cheney, the grand jury would have to conclude that a reasonable person in the vice president's place would say to himself, "I am not pulling the trigger because this other guy might be in front of me," Finn said.
The charge carries up to two years behind bars, but with no previous felonies Cheney would be eligible for probation, the former prosecutor said.
Manslaughter, a more serious charge, would require a prosecutor to prove Cheney was reckless, which would be "virtually impossible under the facts we know today," said Michael Sharlot, professor of criminal law at the University of Texas at Austin.
"With recklessness, the defendant has to be aware of the risk, but choose to ignore it. With negligence, he doesn't have to be conscious of the risk, but a reasonable person would have been," Sharlot said.
As vice president, Cheney has no immunity from prosecution.
Mark Skurka, first assistant district attorney of the three-county area where the shooting took place, said prosecutors did not have an investigation under way.
"If something unfortunate happens, then we'll decide what to do, then we'll decide whether we're going to have an investigation or not," Skurka said.
If District Attorney Carlos Valdez decided to pursue charges, he would forward the matter to a grand jury, which would determine whether to indict Cheney. Valdez, a Democrat, is best known for his prosecution of Yolanda Saldivar, who was sentenced to life in prison for the 1995 slaying of Tejano singer Selena.
Harry Whittington, a 78-year-old lawyer, was struck in the face, neck and chest with shotgun pellets over the weekend while Cheney was shooting at quail. Whittington suffered a mild heart attack Tuesday after a pellet traveled to his heart.
On Wednesday, hospital officials said he had a normal heart rhythm again and was sitting up in a chair, eating regular food and planned to do some legal work in his hospital room. Doctors said they are highly optimistic he will recover.
In a TV interview Wednesday, the vice president accepted full blame for the shooting and defended his decision not to publicly disclose the accident until the following day. He called it "one of the worst days of my life."
If Whittington recovers, Cheney could still face a felony charge of negligently causing injury to an aged person, Sharlot said. But he said such a charge would be "quite unusual" in the case of a hunting accident.
In the only other case of someone being shot by a vice president, Aaron Burr was indicted on murder charges in New York and New Jersey for killing Alexander Hamilton in a duel in 1804, but he was never tried and finished out his term in office.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060215...DMzBHNlYwM3MDM-
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| donnybrasco |
| quote: | Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN
can someone explain to me why its such a fvcking big deal? a private citizen, on private land, was involved in a hunting accident. why this furore on not letting the media know for 24 hrs? i dont see the problem. since when are the private activities of state servants *automatically* the public domain?? |
Shame on you for asking sensible questions in this forum!:whip: |
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| pkcRAISTLIN |
| quote: | Originally posted by donnybrasco
Shame on you for asking sensible questions in this forum!:whip: |
please dont agree with me donny. you make me look bad :D |
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| Q5echo |
| quote: | Originally posted by MisterOpus1
I was asking a question on legality. |
sure. maybe you can can separate yourself intellectually on the legality. but we all know where your loyalties lie regarding Cheney.
so the question remains. after all, we are being honest here right? |
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| donnybrasco |
| quote: | Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN
please dont agree with me donny. you make me look bad :D |
:haha: :haha: :haha:
Too late! We now have something in common.
How will you ever be able to tell your children? :tongue2 ;) |
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| occrider |
| quote: | Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN
since when are the private activities of state servants *automatically* the public domain?? |
When its comedic value is priceless!
I dunno, maybe you can ask Ken Starr that question.
/non-issue ... even if the guy dies.
Edit: Although if Cheney was drunk that might change things. |
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| Q5echo |
| quote: | Originally posted by occrider
When its comedic value is priceless!
I dunno, maybe you can ask Ken Starr that question. |
ask him about perjury, obstruction of justice and witness tampering? sure but he'd say it was non seqitor. he'd be right.
i'd rather ask Vince Foster why the Clintons didn't turnover their information for several weeks ( much less 22 hours:rolleyes: ) but he's dead! |
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| pkcRAISTLIN |
| quote: | Originally posted by Q5echo
i'd rather ask Vince Foster why the Clintons didn't turnover their information for several weeks ( much less 22 hours:rolleyes: ) but he's dead! |
yep, thats the question we should all be asking :rolleyes:
are all you yanks so driven by partisan politics? ever wondered whether both parties could be right AND wrong some of the time? *shock horror* |
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| Shakka |
| quote: | Originally posted by occrider
Edit: Although if Cheney was drunk that might change things. |
Yeah, this guy doesn't have an agenda to push!
| quote: | | John Nichols's book The Rise and Rise of Richard B. Cheney: Unlocking the Mysteries of the Most Powerful Vice President in American History (The New Press) is available nationwide at independent bookstores and at www.amazon.com. Publisher's Weekly describes it as "a Fahrenheit 9/11 for Cheney" and Esquire magazine says it "reveals the inner Cheney. |
Follow the breadcrumbs...
| quote: | | Armstrong also told NBC News that she does not believe alcohol was involved in the accident. She says she believes no one that day was drinking, although she says there may have been beer available during a picnic lunch that preceded the incident. "There may be a beer or two in there," she said, "but remember not everyone in the party was shooting." |
Which leads to the OBVIOUS conclusion that 2 senior citizens, older than most of your grandparents, were out getting fratrageously drunk, and then proceeded to go out in the woods to play Elmer Fudd--despite the fact that Cheney has a heart that's about as useful as a unicycle. Despite the fact that the police report says that no alcohol was involved. The dream is being kept alive by bloggers, by jove! The old man is a boozer! |
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| Marc Summers |
| quote: | Originally posted by occrider
Edit: Although if Cheney was drunk that might change things. |
Lol, it says "a beer or two" and I doubt he is a two beer queer.
If you remember, he said his college nick name was "Chug-master Cheney"
:p |
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