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<blockquote data-quote="deleted member" data-source="post: 123807" data-attributes="member: 816"><p>i will agree with the fact that they let it drag out too long.&nbsp; i don't necessarily blame them for charging folks once arrested.&nbsp; had they not charged these yahoos after being arrested, there would have been hell to pay in the media and with the citizens of ND.&nbsp; however, i do think a lot of the original felony endangering by fire charges and similar felonies should have been vetted a bit better.&nbsp; an extremely high % of them never made it past the felony preliminary stage because they had no specific proof whatsoever that any of the people arrested had anything to do with the fires.&nbsp; that left a bunch of misdemeanor trespass, rioting and/or public nuisance type charges.&nbsp; it became pretty clear early on that the only charges that might stick were the trespass charges (even a lot of those couldn't show actual notice) because there was no documentation about specific defendants actions to support rioting and/or public nuisance.&nbsp; and a lot of those cases were held open for nearly a year before they were eventually dismissed.&nbsp; the cost to the state for public defenders (who were paid outside their existing contracts) on overcharged felonies and then dragging the misdemeanors out for a year had to be quite high for the hundreds of people arrested.&nbsp; that doesn't account for the wasted court and state's attorney office time and expense associated with each.&nbsp; really just a clusterfuck all around.</p></blockquote><p></p>

[QUOTE="deleted member, post: 123807, member: 816"] i will agree with the fact that they let it drag out too long. i don't necessarily blame them for charging folks once arrested. had they not charged these yahoos after being arrested, there would have been hell to pay in the media and with the citizens of ND. however, i do think a lot of the original felony endangering by fire charges and similar felonies should have been vetted a bit better. an extremely high % of them never made it past the felony preliminary stage because they had no specific proof whatsoever that any of the people arrested had anything to do with the fires. that left a bunch of misdemeanor trespass, rioting and/or public nuisance type charges. it became pretty clear early on that the only charges that might stick were the trespass charges (even a lot of those couldn't show actual notice) because there was no documentation about specific defendants actions to support rioting and/or public nuisance. and a lot of those cases were held open for nearly a year before they were eventually dismissed. the cost to the state for public defenders (who were paid outside their existing contracts) on overcharged felonies and then dragging the misdemeanors out for a year had to be quite high for the hundreds of people arrested. that doesn't account for the wasted court and state's attorney office time and expense associated with each. really just a clusterfuck all around. [/QUOTE]

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