Slog - Comments on D.C. Madam Found Guilty, David Vitter Still at Large http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/dc_madam_found_guilty Deborah Jeane Palfrey was found guilty by a jury yesterday of running a prostitution service that, as they say, "catered to the Washington elite." Palfrey broke some idiotic laws and she's going to sentenced on July 24th and will likely do time. Palfrey's many clients—a list that included members of the Washington elite like U.S. Sen. David "Diapers" Vitter, a GOP family-values crusader from Louisiana—also broke some idiotic laws but they haven't been charged with anything, won't be found guilty of anything, and won't do time. Vitter won't even be forced to resign. Palfrey's defense lawyers maintained that she wasn't... Copyright 2008 Wed, 16 Apr 2008 08:21:32 -0800 Wed, 16 Apr 2008 16:46:14 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by infrequent dan! you are on a roll this morning!

]]> infrequent http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/dc_madam_found_guilty#c999542 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/dc_madam_found_guilty#c999542 News Wed, 16 Apr 2008 08:35:19 -0800 Comment by Fifty-Two-Eighty I continue to marvel at the idiocy of the contention that what two consenting adults do, with or without the exchange of money, is somehow any of the government's business.

]]> Fifty-Two-Eighty http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/dc_madam_found_guilty#c999549 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/dc_madam_found_guilty#c999549 News Wed, 16 Apr 2008 08:44:40 -0800 Comment by max solomon Power continues to operate as planned.

]]> max solomon http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/dc_madam_found_guilty#c999554 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/dc_madam_found_guilty#c999554 News Wed, 16 Apr 2008 08:49:55 -0800 Comment by David Wright Not so sharp legal analysis, Dan. Suppose 90% of the customers use the service for sex. Then a boss who arranges 1000 liasons is more than 99.999% sure to have arranged sex for money, far beyond the reasonable doubt standard. But an individual customer is only 90% likely to have bought sex, far below the reasonable doubt standard. Without more evidence than a transaction record, there is no way a prosecutor can get a conviction.

Politically motivated? What political party benefits?

]]> David Wright http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/dc_madam_found_guilty#c999570 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/dc_madam_found_guilty#c999570 News Wed, 16 Apr 2008 08:57:24 -0800 Comment by el I have to second "infrequent". I'm on east coast time and thus daily amused by how many posts dan can get in before the morning news rolls out.

damn you morning people.

]]> el http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/dc_madam_found_guilty#c999576 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/dc_madam_found_guilty#c999576 News Wed, 16 Apr 2008 09:05:58 -0800 Comment by saxfanatic I'm not up on these things, but considering the market, isn't $250 for 90 minutes (or $167/hour) a bargain?

Hell, I can think of plenty of things that cost like that and involve no sex whatsoever.

]]> saxfanatic http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/dc_madam_found_guilty#c999581 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/dc_madam_found_guilty#c999581 News Wed, 16 Apr 2008 09:14:26 -0800 Comment by Sandy David Wright: Nu uh. Not if they get the sex worker to testify by threatening her with prosecution. Is the standard of proof for prostitution beyond a reasonable doubt?

]]> Sandy http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/dc_madam_found_guilty#c999605 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/dc_madam_found_guilty#c999605 News Wed, 16 Apr 2008 09:49:48 -0800 Comment by David Note also the prosecutors' harassing, truly creepy interrogation of the alleged prostitutes (like one who "worked briefly for the escort service nearly 15 years ago"):

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/10/AR2008041003486_pf.html

]]> David http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/dc_madam_found_guilty#c999620 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/dc_madam_found_guilty#c999620 News Wed, 16 Apr 2008 10:02:09 -0800 Comment by tsm Wednesday, prosecutors forced a
Wednesday, prosecutors forced a 63-year-old retired PhD -- her name, like those of other witnesses, now a matter of public record -- to testify about inducing orgasms in her client; the government's lawyers had similar questions for a mother of three who worked briefly for the escort service nearly 15 years ago.

First - yeah, fuck the prosecutors.

Second - "63-year-old retired PhD"? Really? Wow.

]]> tsm http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/dc_madam_found_guilty#c999704 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/dc_madam_found_guilty#c999704 News Wed, 16 Apr 2008 10:52:25 -0800 Comment by unPC if it's a crime for the madame, they should go after the johns.
sooooo....could some enterprising alternative weekly publish the black book with all the names of all the johns?

]]> unPC http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/dc_madam_found_guilty#c999723 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/dc_madam_found_guilty#c999723 News Wed, 16 Apr 2008 11:00:51 -0800 Comment by Ed Fox Still not stunning legal analysis. The standard for any criminal prosecution is "beyond a reasonable doubt." It's not just up to a reasonable doubt. And your other analysis is statistical analysis, not legal analysis - a jury is qualified to make the decision that Dan is asking for. A prosecutor not prosecuting the case is a political decision, not a purely legal decision.

]]> Ed Fox http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/dc_madam_found_guilty#c999763 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/dc_madam_found_guilty#c999763 News Wed, 16 Apr 2008 11:29:51 -0800 Comment by Jeff $250 for 90 minutes is probably less than what the lawyers involved are charging. She should have answered, "Legal consultation."

]]> Jeff http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/dc_madam_found_guilty#c999956 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/dc_madam_found_guilty#c999956 News Wed, 16 Apr 2008 13:40:54 -0800 Comment by Greg Hey, you know that joke about the difference between a lawyer and a hooker...

]]> Greg http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/dc_madam_found_guilty#c1000025 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/dc_madam_found_guilty#c1000025 News Wed, 16 Apr 2008 14:18:14 -0800 Comment by AK Rob so what does a person donating $1,000 to a political campaign expect?

]]> AK Rob http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/dc_madam_found_guilty#c1000287 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/dc_madam_found_guilty#c1000287 News Wed, 16 Apr 2008 16:46:14 -0800