Slog - Comments on Nightclub Sting's Trials and Errors

Comment by ellarosa

ellarosa — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 14:40:05 -0800

tempest in a beer bottle.

Comment by tom carr is untouchable!

tom carr is untouchable! — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 14:43:45 -0800

he told me that next time he's going to send in elliot ness.

Comment by monkey

monkey — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 14:51:01 -0800

Stone them in Pioneer Sq.

Comment by Mr. X

Mr. X — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 14:52:39 -0800

Tom Carr has really turned out to be a vindictive, evil piece of shit, hasn't he?

Run Napoleon, Run!

Comment by Gidge

Gidge — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 14:54:52 -0800

Holy shit, that's an offer that's way out of line. What sentencing guidelines is he talking about? I agree that there should be consistency in offers made on similar cases for similarly situated defendants, but that doesn't mean they should be constitently draconian. What's really amazing is, if the case goes to trial, Carr will probably ask for more time if he convicts.

Gehrke's right about how unusual it is for a first offender to get that much jail time. That's a really great use of our limited resources.

Comment by Will in Seattle

Will in Seattle — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 15:05:26 -0800

Wait! We have a budget crisis with too much money being spent for our criminal justice system, and he wants to lock up first time offenders?

Who the heck can afford that?

Tell the downtown multi-millionaires if they want to, they can foot the bill for it - but not we Seattle citizens.

And, for the record, we already said to stop whining about the reality that we think MJ use is not important for the cops to be wasting their time on, when we have murderers running around our city not caught by the cops, and attempted carjackers that almost kill UW students.

Comment by Huh?

Huh? — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 15:21:33 -0800

Going to trial is a smart strategy. Frankly, so would an unconditional guilty plea as charged. Convicted either way, no judge is going to give these people jail time unless the defendant has agreed to it in a plea deal. They may not even get fined - judges hate it when their dockets are clogged with this kind of crap.

Comment by Karlheinz Arschbomber

Karlheinz Arschbomber — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 15:26:56 -0800

I just don't get this.

Every bar I've been to in Seattle (this is a multi-year research project, folks) is intensely paranoid about carding anybody who looks remotely under 30. [sadly, not me.]

A very good reputable restaurant (not a youth hangout at all!) was stung by the WA LCB, they sent in a ringer and the restaurant got whacked with a stiff fine for this single 'violation'.

In Germany there is none of this. There is a 'Youth Protection Law', which nobody enforces or gives a shit. Guess where there are far more alcohol-related deaths. By orders of magnitude. (Hint: it's where they speak sorta-English).

Comment by Will in Seattle

Will in Seattle — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 15:44:41 -0800

I'm surprised, KA, I would have thought you'd get carded. They card me sometimes.

In France your parents decide when you can drink. Even better.

Comment by wisepunk

wisepunk — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 15:54:08 -0800

Thanks for posting this Dom, I have been waiting for this all day. Carr and the city are in total CYA mode on this power grab. I'm sure in a year or two the city will be asking for the rights to seize property from the convicted to pay for the cost of prosecution, a favorite of the war on drugs crowd. Think of it, the city could take the bars over, oh what fun we will have!

Comment by FRANK

FRANK — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 15:56:03 -0800

THIS IS LUDICROUS.

Carr should be recalled for abuse of power.

I hope someone makes a complaint to the Bar on this. Carr is out of control. I can't believe he represents Seattle. We should all be embarrassed. He's starting to make Mark Sidran look like a progressive.

Comment by fuckthiscity

fuckthiscity — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 15:58:59 -0800

Where's the Mayor's Music Office on this? Shouldn't they be stepping in to support music and nightlife?

Comment by Poster Girl

Poster Girl — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 16:19:27 -0800

Carr has no idea what it's like to work. That fucker makes a mistake and it costs tax payers money a poor waitress makes a mistake on checking an ID that's expired does time in jail.
The guy is a disgusting.

Comment by Tim

Tim — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 16:24:27 -0800

Great post. Horrible headline. I almost missed it.

Comment by NapoleonXIV

NapoleonXIV — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 16:49:08 -0800

No one knows half of how horrible these investigations really were.

Yet....

Comment by Dominic Holden

Dominic Holden — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 16:54:47 -0800

Thanks, Tim. Added the words "nightclub sting's" to the headline to make it less horrible.

Comment by rubyred

rubyred — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 17:12:11 -0800

*wiping tears*
@12, that's funny

Comment by Paddy Mac

Paddy Mac — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 18:48:48 -0800

I clearly recall us Seattle voters resoundingly rejecting Mark Sidran's mayoral request, because we did not want a bullying authoritarian ruling us. (The Stranger even ran a great post-defeat editorial, mocking Sidran, which I loved.) Now, with this blatantly political sweep of arrests, which Sidran's successor wants to push to the absolute limits, I have to wonder: what part of 'NO!' do these people not understand? Carr lobbied hard against the MJ initiative, and he LOST. Now, he's authored a very misleading report against it. What ever happened to ethics in law or public administration? Having office does NOT mean he gets to do whatever he wants, the will of the voters be damned. Can we impeach him? I'm serious.

Comment by cracked

cracked — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 21:58:54 -0800

The Seattle municourt judges are going to hate this shit clogging their dockets after they see how much time its going to take and how much trouble Carr is going to have getting convictions on even half. Of course, Seattle municourt judges have delusions of grandeur wholly different from county district court jugdes, but even here they are likely to see the jail time being sought is crazy because the facts here all point to a lack of intent on the part of the defendants. They simply didn't set out to commit crimes, something totally different from a drunk driver who knows he's had more than two drinks.

Comment by pissed

pissed — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 23:15:06 -0800

Carr has just officially crossed the line from being just a poor city attorney to a bad person.