America’s original superhero was Superman who, in the 1950s was fighting “…a never-ending battle for truth, justice, and the American way.” How visionary that promotion was given that in 2023 and we are still fighting a “never-ending battle for truth, justice and the American way.”
Left-wing extremists are intentionally undermining the American criminal justice system, which has always been founded on the ideals of truth and justice, which are – the American way. By sidestepping basic legal standards, extremist-funded District Attorneys are hard at work trying to destroy and discredit our criminal justice institutions, i.e., law enforcement, prosecution and courts. They are intentionally distracting public attention from the very principles that make the American criminal justice system the shining beacon of fairness for people around the world.
The first step in our criminal justice system, or process, is investigation. When there are credible allegations or evidence that a crime has been committed, Federal, State and local law enforcement officers are authorized by law to investigate. An investigation must be based not on a mere hunch, but on reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed. Investigations are conducted to find the truth, identify perpetrator(s) and if there is probable cause a suspect committed a crime, induct them into the criminal justice system by arresting them or indicting them.
The power to investigate does not authorize law enforcement agencies to go on fishing expeditions to look for people to investigate to achieve desired political outcomes. Nonetheless, in recent years, we see this happening repeatedly, for example, when government agencies use law enforcement powers to target conservatives without reasonable suspicion upon which to begin an investigation.
An example of law enforcement’s power to investigate is well demonstrated with the issue of racial profiling. It has always been wrong for the police to stop someone to investigate based on nothing more than a person’s skin color. Legally, the police must articulate valid reasons for stopping anyone; skin color alone is not a valid reason, as it shouldn’t be. Laws against racial profiling are designed to protect people of color, but the underlying principle is the same for all investigations. Law enforcement should never investigate anyone based on mere politics, skin color, or anything other than well-founded reasonable suspicion they are committing a crime.
The next basic principle that is systematically under attack by extremists is probable cause, which is the legal standard law enforcement officers must prove to charge anyone with a crime. Probable cause means: facts sufficient in and of themselves to lead a reasonable and prudent police officer to believe a crime has been committed and the person to be arrested probably committed that crime. An arrest or search that is absent the element of probable cause is illegal and unconstitutional insofar as it deprives an individual of their freedom without due process of law. Proceeding based on a foundation of probable cause is, by definition, due process of law.
The standard of probable cause is designed to protect people from being thrown in jail for no valid reason. Unfortunately, there are numerous recent examples of left-wing activist-funded district Truth, Justice, and the American Way By Chief Dan Flynn (ret.) attorneys initiating arrests without probable cause for political purposes. Eventually, rogue district attorneys can be voted out of office, but in the interim, they irreparably ruin lives, livelihoods, and reputations, and they know it. Their goal is not only to destroy ordinary people, but also to undermine the whole criminal justice system.
After probable cause to arrest, the next step in the criminal justice system is prosecution. The standard of proof to prosecute elevates to “proof beyond a reasonable doubt.” A prosecutor should not even begin a prosecution unless they have a plausible chance of convicting a defendant based on proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Prosecution should be based on nothing less than strong evidence and supporting testimony and anything less is a waste of taxpayers’ money and a miscarriage of justice.
There are numerous examples of politically motivated rogue district attorneys who initiated prosecutions without sufficient probable cause or without a reasonable expectation of achieving a conviction. In Georgia in 2020 in the heat of political riots, rogue, openly anti-police, District Attorney Paul Howard charged Atlanta police officers with Murder without probable cause. His counterparts in other cities include the Michael Brown case in Missouri, Freddie Gray case in Baltimore, and several others like them, all of which ultimately failed in court because they were absent the basic standards for prosecution. Nonetheless, they too accomplished their dark progressive left-wing agenda of undermining the foundation and public confidence in the American criminal justice system.
Truth, justice and the American way are worth fighting for and we should keep politics out of it. It is still appropriate that the criminal justice system is symbolized by Lady Justice who is blindfolded for a good and decent reason; to administer justice fairly and without regard for anyone’s race, religion, likeability, or political preferences.
Dan Flynn has served as the chief of police of Marietta as well as Savannah.
