HUFFINGTON
08.04.13
THE UNTOUCHABLES
But the word it uses is should, not
shall,” Plattsmier says. “So some
judges take that instruction very
seriously, but some just don’t find
it relevant.” Plattsmier’s office
does not have jurisdiction over
judges. Discipline of judges is handled by other judges.
“You have to remember that
nearly all judges are former prosecutors,” Dalton says. “There’s an
undercurrent of alliance between
judges and prosecutors, so there’s a
certain collegiality there. They run
in the same social circles. They attend the same Christmas parties.”
Since his release, Thompson
has given public talks, spoken on
panels and participated in forums
on how best to address prosecutor misconduct. He knows all
about the Christmas party problem. “Even when I talk to judges
and prosecutors who acknowledge
there’s a problem, who are sympathetic, even they will bring that
up. They’ll say, ‘I’ve known Jack
all my life. My kids go to school
with his kids. He came to my
Christmas party last year. How
could I file a complaint against
him? How could I discipline him,
or take away his law license, when
that’s how he feeds and takes care
of his family? I know Jenny and
the kids. I can’t do something
that’s going to put them out of
their home.’”
“I get that,” Thompson says.
“If I’m honest with myself, if I’m
forcing myself to see the world
through someone else’s eyes, I
get that. But then what can we do
about that? Who is going to file
these complaints? Me? From a
jail cell?”
He continues: “I just come back
to the fact that they wanted me
dead. I understand that maybe,
in your heart of hearts, you really
“Publicity and high
convict