Since Choose Ho appointed Paul Clement as an amicus within the Eric Adams case, I’ve been looking for a solution to a query: has there ever been a deferred prosecution settlement for a public official. The US routinely enters into civil consent decrees with public officers. And america enters into deferred prosecution agreements with authorities contractors. At the very least within the case of Boeing, the federal government was probably motivated by a priority that barring the aerospace large would impression American pursuits.
However I’ve requested round, and couldn’t discover a solution to my query about DPAs for public officers.
Clement’s brief makes this assertion:
There may be an inherent threat that after an indictment has been procured, the prospect of re-indictment might create the looks, if not the fact, that the actions of a public official are being pushed by considerations about staying within the good graces of the federal govt, somewhat than one of the best pursuits of his constituents. That prospect explains the absence of deferred prosecution agreements involving public officers.
Clement doesn’t provide a quotation. I understand it’s laborious to show a detrimental right here. How are you going to present that one thing has by no means occurred? What if the federal government has used a DPA for a public official? And although I take officer stuff rigorously, Clement doesn’t distinguish between elected and appointed officers. What about civil servants? Has there actually by no means been any individual in authorities who obtained a DPA from the federal authorities? And if the reply is sure, then why would Mayor Adams be totally different.
I typically inform my college students to by no means say the phrase by no means. If somebody finds a single occasion the place one thing occurred, your argument is shot.
Let’s examine what turns up.
