- In a rare win for America's politically incorrect, Lonny
Rae finally has been vindicated for hurling the N-word at a black man who
mauled his wife.
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- Today, the Idaho Court of Appeals ruled that Lonny Rae
is a free man. The feds could retry him under civil rights statutes, I
suppose, but we don't expect that to happen.
-
- But, it could happen. Remember, this is Idaho, "The
Human Rights State," where those who think differently better keep
it to themselves. I know. Lonny Rae wasn't the first free speech desperado
I have defended here.
-
- Remember Lonny Rae? He's the fellow who faced five years
in prison for slinging the N-word at the black guy who had just mauled
his wife. She was a reporter, on assignment for the local newspaper, who
took a picture of one of the referees following a high school football
game late in 2000. Kenneth Manley, the referee didn't like it and grabbed
her around the neck as she walked away, in an attempt to take the camera
from her.
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- We sought and received a change in venue so that Lonny
Rae didn't have to submit to the judgment of members of the small community
in central Idaho (Council) where he was held in such low esteem for "gittin'
the football team in trouble," as so eloquently put by the town ruffian
that then proceeded to break Lonny's ankle in a fistfight one cold evening
after the referees' association had placed the Council High School on probation
for "fan harassment."
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- The harassment? After Manley let go of Lonny's wife and
disappeared into the red brick field house to shower and change clothes,
Lonny got a good look at the injury to his wife's neck and went ballistic.
He turned and shouted into the building: "Tell that nigger to get
out here, 'cuz I'm a gonna kick his butt."
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- The referee never was charged with assault and battery
(and still never has been charged with anything), yet Lonny was booked
for a violation of Idaho's Malicious Harassment statute (the hate crime
law). That was when the media from nearby Boise went into an orgy, covering
the "racist" Lonny Rae both in print and on TV. Lonny never again
got work in the area.
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- Even the local newspaper got in on the act, eventually
referring to Lonny's wife as "the antichrist." Yes, that is the
same newspaper that had assigned her to cover the football game in the
first place. And, yes, that is the same newspaper that let her go when
advertisers threatened to pull their ads if she remained on staff.
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- "Welcome to Council," says the sign at the
town outskirts, "The community that cares."
-
- They claim it was just coincidental that Lonny got charged
only a day or so after the referees' association placed the football program
on probation.
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- Following a quick two-day jury trial, Lonny Rae was acquitted
of the hate crime charge (a five-year prison term could have resulted from
a conviction). However, just before jury deliberations, and over my strenuous
objection (we already had rested Lonny's defense), the judge added assault
and disturbing the peace as lesser-included offenses for the jury's consideration.
The jury convicted Lonny of assault. A month later, the judge sentenced
him to seven days in the county jail, suspended pending appeal.
-
- Today, the Idaho Court of Appeals stated: "Because
we have concluded that assault is not a lesser included offense of malicious
harassment in this case, Rae's judgment of conviction for assault is vacated."
-
- Today, the Court of Appeals seized upon the "does
some act which creates a well-founded fear in the other person" language
of Idaho's assault statute, in holding that assault is not a logical subset
of the hate crime law. Go figure.
-
- Of course, on the stand, the black guy confessed that
he was never afraid of Lonny Rae, so the distinction is valid in this case.
I simply figure there are better reasons for distinguishing the two statutes,
but, then, nobody except Lonny Rae ever has cared what I think.
-
- The trial judge did not require the jury to enter a finding
on Disturbing the Peace if it convicted Lonny of Assault, which is why
a judgment of acquittal on all charges must now be entered, despite the
appellate court also ruling today that Disturbing the Peace is a lesser-included
offense of the Idaho Hate Crime statute.
-
- What I found most ironic about the decision issued today
is the language quoted from another case by the judges, used to justify
the trial judge's adding a lesser-included offense to the charges after
the defense had rested and with no prior notice to either side: "Our
courts are not gambling halls but forums for the discovery of truth...neither
the prosecution nor the defense should be allowed, based on their trial
strategy, to preclude the jury from considering guilt of a lesser offense
included in the crime charged." (State v. Watts, 131 Idaho 782, 784-785,
Ct App, 1998)
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- Yes, the judge's conduct seems ironic in light of prosecutors
never suffering any penalty for overloading their charge sheets so as to
guarantee convictions and heavy penalties.
-
- But, what I find most curious is that this "forum
for the discovery of truth" didn't care about the fact that the only
person who actually did commit assault, as well as battery, and physically
injured another person, was never charged with anything!
-
- Who? Why, the black guy, of course. Remember, he attacked
and injured Lonny Rae's wife. After all, that's what got Lonny Rae so mad
in the first place.
-
- If the courtroom is a "forum for the discovery of
truth," then somebody please explain to me why the black guy sat there
in front of the judge, walked away and, to this day, has never been charged
with a thing.
-
- Yet Lonny Rae and his wife both lost their jobs, he got
his foot broken by the town ruffian, then they lost their home and many
possessions when they ran out of money, then they had to move away. Because
he did the right thing and stood up for his wife's honor. Because he objected
to the brutalizing inflicted upon her by the black guy who was never charged
with anything.
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- Already, we have seen that "the truth" is nothing
but an accidental by-product of our courts today. Now, it should be clear
to the most casual observer that justice, real justice, often is absent
as well.
-
- By the way, in case you were wondering, I handled this
case, including the appeal, pro bono, because I thought the principles
involved were so important to the rest of us. The court didn't even award
us costs for our successful appeal. Your tax dollars paid for the considerable
sum it took to bring Lonny Rae to trial, though.
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- ___________________________________
-
- See Attorney for the Damned http://www.conspiracypenpal.com/columns/damned.htm
, the article I wrote directly following the basic jury trial over a year
ago, for a complete description of what happened in the courtroom before
the jury got the case, as well as a better summary of the "lesser-included
offense" problem as I then saw it.
-
- Go here for the full text of the judicial decision published
today:
- Idaho v. Rae
- http://www2.state.id.us/judicial/opinions/rae.pdf,
- Docket No. 28229, 2004 Opinion No. 8
-
- New America. An idea whose time has come.
- -- ed
-
- "I didn't say it would be easy. I just said it would
be the truth."
- -- Morpheus
-
- Copyright 2004, Edgar J. Steele
-
- Forward as you wish. Permission is granted to circulate
among private individuals and groups, post on all Internet sites and publish
in full in all not-for-profit publications. Contact author for all other
rights, which are reserved.
-
- http://www.conspiracypenpal.com/columns/nword.htm
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