Maybe it's Art Curtis who should be in hot water: Second trial over $150 water heater gets under way

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In law, there's a concept known as, among other things, "prosecutorial discretion."

The term "prosecutorial discretion" refers to the fact that under American law, government prosecuting attorneys have nearly absolute and unreviewable power to choose whether or not to bring criminal charges, and what charges to bring, in cases where the evidence would justify charges. This authority provides the essential underpinning to the prevailing practice of plea bargaining, and guarantees that American prosecutors are among the most powerful of public officials. It also provides a significant opportunity for leniency and mercy in a system that is frequently marked by broad and harsh criminal laws, and, increasingly in the last decades of the twentieth century, by legislative limitations on judges' sentencing discretion.

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Now, the article in the paper indicates that, when asked about this monstrous waste of money during the first trial, our esteemed county prosecutor, Art Curtis, didn't bother to reply.

The first trial generated a lot of heat. Trials cost about $1,500 to $2,000 a day. During the first trial, jury forewoman Dr. Courtney Lower wrote Prosecutor Art Curtis an April 19 letter asking him to justify why "this case is an appropriate use of taxpayer money."

More than 95 percent of felony defendants agree to plead guilty. Of 2,300 cases filed annually, only 89 cases last year went to trial in Superior Court.

Curtis did not respond to a request for comment this spring and was out of the office this week.

With "judgement" like this, its pretty clear that Curtis has been mailing it in for years, anyway, and we would, perhaps, be better served if he'd just go away. Permanently.

If this is how Curtis is going to waste our money, maybe the county commissioners should cut the $4 million out of HIS budget... he's obviously got it to waste.
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