Comments on: O Canada http://blog.bennettandbennett.com/2008/01/o-canada.html the tao of criminal-defense trial lawyering Wed, 08 Feb 2012 02:41:57 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Laurent Desbois http://blog.bennettandbennett.com/2008/01/o-canada.html/comment-page-1#comment-971 Laurent Desbois Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:11:00 +0000 http://bennettandbennett.com/blog/?p=455#comment-971 Speak White<br/><br/>Effectivement, il y a un lien entre le mouvement souverainiste au Qu?©bec et l‚Äô?©mancipation des noirs, aux ?âtats-Unis et en Afrique du Sud. Personnellement, Nelson Mandela et Martin Luther King m‚Äôont beaucoup inspir?© durant les ann?©es ‚Äô60.<br/><br/>Je te rappelle le livre ¬´ N?®gres blancs d‚ÄôAm?©rique ¬ª de Pierre Valli?®re.<br/><br/>Lors d‚Äôun r?©cent voyage en Afrique du Sud, j‚Äôai eu la chance de discuter avec de jeunes Sud- Africains. Ils ?©taient tr?®s fiers de me parler de leur nouveau pays et en plus, ils m‚Äôont beaucoup appris au sujet de leur combat et de leur histoire. J‚Äôai ?©t?© tr?®s surpris avec les similitudes avec le parcourt des Qu?©b?©cois. Ils ont bien appr?©ci?© l‚Äôexpression ¬´ N?®gre Blanc! ¬ª. J‚Äôai ?©t?© flatt?© qu‚Äôils fassent le lien avec Johnny Clegg‚Ķ qu‚Äôils ont affectueusement nomm?© le ¬´ Zulu blanc ¬ª!<br/>-----------------------------------<br/><br/>¬´ Speak White ¬ª de Pierre Falardeau<br/><br/>Ce po?®me a ?©t?© ?©crit en 1967 par Mich?®le Lalonde. Il ne faut pas penser que ?ßa parle du Qu?©bec d'aujourd'hui. Et le po?®me est loin de ne parler que du Qu?©bec. Il parle du Vietnam, des Juifs, des noirs am?©ricains, de l'exploitation en g?©n?©ral.<br/><br/>http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=DqOvfXoGMfY<br/><br/>http://www.geocities.com/athens/forum/5462/ml-white.html<br/><br/>http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speak_White Speak White

Effectivement, il y a un lien entre le mouvement souverainiste au Qu?©bec et l‚Äô?©mancipation des noirs, aux ?âtats-Unis et en Afrique du Sud. Personnellement, Nelson Mandela et Martin Luther King m‚Äôont beaucoup inspir?© durant les ann?©es ‚Äô60.

Je te rappelle le livre ¬´ N?®gres blancs d‚ÄôAm?©rique ¬ª de Pierre Valli?®re.

Lors d‚Äôun r?©cent voyage en Afrique du Sud, j‚Äôai eu la chance de discuter avec de jeunes Sud- Africains. Ils ?©taient tr?®s fiers de me parler de leur nouveau pays et en plus, ils m‚Äôont beaucoup appris au sujet de leur combat et de leur histoire. J‚Äôai ?©t?© tr?®s surpris avec les similitudes avec le parcourt des Qu?©b?©cois. Ils ont bien appr?©ci?© l‚Äôexpression ¬´ N?®gre Blanc! ¬ª. J‚Äôai ?©t?© flatt?© qu‚Äôils fassent le lien avec Johnny Clegg‚Ķ qu‚Äôils ont affectueusement nomm?© le ¬´ Zulu blanc ¬ª!
———————————–

« Speak White » de Pierre Falardeau

Ce po?®me a ?©t?© ?©crit en 1967 par Mich?®le Lalonde. Il ne faut pas penser que ?ßa parle du Qu?©bec d’aujourd’hui. Et le po?®me est loin de ne parler que du Qu?©bec. Il parle du Vietnam, des Juifs, des noirs am?©ricains, de l’exploitation en g?©n?©ral.

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=DqOvfXoGMfY

http://www.geocities.com/athens/forum/5462/ml-white.html

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speak_White

]]> By: Robert Guest http://blog.bennettandbennett.com/2008/01/o-canada.html/comment-page-1#comment-838 Robert Guest Mon, 14 Jan 2008 05:18:00 +0000 http://bennettandbennett.com/blog/?p=455#comment-838 Ok, so I wrote "N-Word" instead of Nigger. I didn't want to rise to the top of the google rankings for racial slur searches.<br/><br/>Australians/Canadians? What is it with the British Empire? Ok, so I wrote “N-Word” instead of Nigger. I didn’t want to rise to the top of the google rankings for racial slur searches.

Australians/Canadians? What is it with the British Empire?

]]> By: Mark Bennett http://blog.bennettandbennett.com/2008/01/o-canada.html/comment-page-1#comment-837 Mark Bennett Mon, 14 Jan 2008 02:59:00 +0000 http://bennettandbennett.com/blog/?p=455#comment-837 Anon,<br/><br/>Most of the Harris County prosecutors I know appear to me to be honorable, ethical, reasonable people. But so did the prosecutor who sent that particular email, so what do I know? <br/><br/>I wouldn't attribute one person's character flaws to any other individual, but I don't have a problem holding the organization responsible for the actions of one (or, as you say, a few) of its employees, and every lawyer, down there or out in the real world, who knew about any misconduct by prosecutors and didn't blow the whistle shares the blame.<br/><br/>I appreciate your efforts to keep me honest, but I think I'm good on this. What I'm talking about when I blame the office (and Kelly Siegler, who had a position of power and respect and now is running for a public position of greater power) for one lawyer's abhorrent act is not really guilt by association; rather, it's guilt by supervision. (Does the buck bypass Kelly on its way to stopping at Chuck? Convince me. She's not presumed innocent because a) I am not the law; and b) she's running for high public office.) <br/><br/>I don't know the mystery prosecutor; thank you for not enlightening us here. Vivian seems pretty certain of the circumstances surrounding his resignation and his current situation.<br/><br/>The fact that the prosecutor who wrote the email is by all indications unrepentant (if Vivian's account is correct, then the prosecutor's Fox26 interview was not), if true, doesn't speak well of the Office's management, and suggests that it is time for a serious housecleaning. <br/><br/>(I wonder, if I were elected DA, how I would go about it. You can't just gut the whole office, but how, when perfidy has been swept under the rug for eight years, do you find the few bad apples who are spoiling the bushel?)<br/><br/>When you say that it makes you sad to think that Vivian, Loretta, and Alvin <i>feel</i> that there are prosecutors in the Office that dislike them because of their race, you seem to be implying that those feelings might not accurately reflect reality. I would bet that it does, and that there are prosecutors in the Office who dislike them and treat them worse than they treat me because of their race. <i>That</i> makes me sad. These excellent lawyers are not whiners, and I am grateful that I haven't had to experience the bias that they describe. Anon,

Most of the Harris County prosecutors I know appear to me to be honorable, ethical, reasonable people. But so did the prosecutor who sent that particular email, so what do I know?

I wouldn’t attribute one person’s character flaws to any other individual, but I don’t have a problem holding the organization responsible for the actions of one (or, as you say, a few) of its employees, and every lawyer, down there or out in the real world, who knew about any misconduct by prosecutors and didn’t blow the whistle shares the blame.

I appreciate your efforts to keep me honest, but I think I’m good on this. What I’m talking about when I blame the office (and Kelly Siegler, who had a position of power and respect and now is running for a public position of greater power) for one lawyer’s abhorrent act is not really guilt by association; rather, it’s guilt by supervision. (Does the buck bypass Kelly on its way to stopping at Chuck? Convince me. She’s not presumed innocent because a) I am not the law; and b) she’s running for high public office.)

I don’t know the mystery prosecutor; thank you for not enlightening us here. Vivian seems pretty certain of the circumstances surrounding his resignation and his current situation.

The fact that the prosecutor who wrote the email is by all indications unrepentant (if Vivian’s account is correct, then the prosecutor’s Fox26 interview was not), if true, doesn’t speak well of the Office’s management, and suggests that it is time for a serious housecleaning.

(I wonder, if I were elected DA, how I would go about it. You can’t just gut the whole office, but how, when perfidy has been swept under the rug for eight years, do you find the few bad apples who are spoiling the bushel?)

When you say that it makes you sad to think that Vivian, Loretta, and Alvin feel that there are prosecutors in the Office that dislike them because of their race, you seem to be implying that those feelings might not accurately reflect reality. I would bet that it does, and that there are prosecutors in the Office who dislike them and treat them worse than they treat me because of their race. That makes me sad. These excellent lawyers are not whiners, and I am grateful that I haven’t had to experience the bias that they describe.

]]> By: Anonymous http://blog.bennettandbennett.com/2008/01/o-canada.html/comment-page-1#comment-835 Anonymous Mon, 14 Jan 2008 01:46:00 +0000 http://bennettandbennett.com/blog/?p=455#comment-835 okay, I know it's tempting to join the media frenzy slamming the D.A.'s office, but let's hold on here for a second. I would think that a website run by someone who upholds the principles of "innocent until proven guilty" would be a little more open-minded about the idea of slamming an entire office based on the actions of a few.<br/>I know the "mystery former prosecutor" who went to the clerk's office and looked at the jury roster. Out of a respect for his privacy, I won't name him on the web. However, it should be worth noting that I certainly don't recall him leaving the office because of a hostile work environment. As a matter of fact, he stayed for quite some time AFTER this incident before leaving the office for a much more lucrative job outside of the criminal arena. I'm a little suspect about the idea that he's being "threatened" by anybody from the D.A.'s office. Those people involved in this unfortunate e-mail scandal are walking around with their tails between their legs, and they certainly aren't out starting more fights. Even if they were, the "mystery prosecutor" that I know never feared a confrontation or backed down from a fight that I ever saw.<br/>It makes me sad to think that quality defense attorneys like Vivian, Loretta, and Alvin feel that there are prosecutors in the Office that dislike them because of their race. I've dealt with all three of them, and like them all very much and find them to be excellent attorneys and formidable opponents.<br/>The e-mail scandal is inexcusable, but I strongly dispute the fact that it is representative of what the Office stands for. I think references to the Rosenthal/ Siegler administration that you keep making are disengenuous for someone who would violently defend against the principle of guilt by association. okay, I know it’s tempting to join the media frenzy slamming the D.A.’s office, but let’s hold on here for a second. I would think that a website run by someone who upholds the principles of “innocent until proven guilty” would be a little more open-minded about the idea of slamming an entire office based on the actions of a few.
I know the “mystery former prosecutor” who went to the clerk’s office and looked at the jury roster. Out of a respect for his privacy, I won’t name him on the web. However, it should be worth noting that I certainly don’t recall him leaving the office because of a hostile work environment. As a matter of fact, he stayed for quite some time AFTER this incident before leaving the office for a much more lucrative job outside of the criminal arena. I’m a little suspect about the idea that he’s being “threatened” by anybody from the D.A.’s office. Those people involved in this unfortunate e-mail scandal are walking around with their tails between their legs, and they certainly aren’t out starting more fights. Even if they were, the “mystery prosecutor” that I know never feared a confrontation or backed down from a fight that I ever saw.
It makes me sad to think that quality defense attorneys like Vivian, Loretta, and Alvin feel that there are prosecutors in the Office that dislike them because of their race. I’ve dealt with all three of them, and like them all very much and find them to be excellent attorneys and formidable opponents.
The e-mail scandal is inexcusable, but I strongly dispute the fact that it is representative of what the Office stands for. I think references to the Rosenthal/ Siegler administration that you keep making are disengenuous for someone who would violently defend against the principle of guilt by association.

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