Apparently, Black won't be eligible for early release and other programs while he sits in an American prison - because he's not an American citizen. (apparently minimum security prison is also out of the question...)
Then, when his sentence is up (whatever it turns out to be), he will be promptly shipped to an Immigration Detention Center to await deportation out of the country.
Gosh, you mean a convicted felon might have to serve his term and then be deported out of country? While I disagree with a great many things in the way the American justice system has gone in recent years, Mr. Black is merely being forced to lie in a bed of his own making.
Showing posts with label Lord Black. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lord Black. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Of Due Process
Recently, we have had two fairly significant (to Canadians at least) court rulings.
The first being Conrad Black being found guilty of securities fraud.
The second happened yesterday: Felderhoff found not guilty in Bre-X.
These two cases provide an interesting insight into some misconceptions that some people have of the justice system.
Both cases are excellent examples of due process taking its course - regardless of the outcome.
Unfortunately, it seems that too many people confuse the term "charged" with "guilty":
Bre-X may well have been Canada's biggest swindle of the 20th Century, but that doesn't mean that there's enough concrete evidence to hold Felderhoff responsible. (One may suspect all you want, but suspicion is not proof)
Due process is essential to the proper functioning of any democracy. We all have the right to due process - the government does not have the right to detain any of us without charge and trial.
Yet, that is what the US government has done by executive fiat and the "PATRIOT Act" which effectively suspend the notion of habeas corpus in the United States.
In Canada, we have a Conservative government which has put forth amendments to our criminal code that subvert the presumption of innocence, and have created a "no-fly list" that has no due process whatsoever around it.
It's intriguing how the "law-and-order" crowd are the very people so willing to suspend the very fundamentals of that system.
There's nothing to say that Canada's securities laws need to be revisited and reviewed in light of the Bre-X scandal, but let us not lose sight of the fact that any restatement of that legislation has to be carefully considered. Too broad a brush and we will create an environment where lawsuits and accusations of fraud will happen the moment a company hits a rough quarter.
The first being Conrad Black being found guilty of securities fraud.
The second happened yesterday: Felderhoff found not guilty in Bre-X.
These two cases provide an interesting insight into some misconceptions that some people have of the justice system.
Both cases are excellent examples of due process taking its course - regardless of the outcome.
Unfortunately, it seems that too many people confuse the term "charged" with "guilty":
Stan Buell, another investor who lost his Bre-X investment, founded the Small Investor Protection Association in the aftermath of the Bre-X scandal.
He calls the Bre-X fiasco "the scam of the century" and told CBC News he can't believe no one will be forced to pay for it.
Bre-X may well have been Canada's biggest swindle of the 20th Century, but that doesn't mean that there's enough concrete evidence to hold Felderhoff responsible. (One may suspect all you want, but suspicion is not proof)
Due process is essential to the proper functioning of any democracy. We all have the right to due process - the government does not have the right to detain any of us without charge and trial.
Yet, that is what the US government has done by executive fiat and the "PATRIOT Act" which effectively suspend the notion of habeas corpus in the United States.
In Canada, we have a Conservative government which has put forth amendments to our criminal code that subvert the presumption of innocence, and have created a "no-fly list" that has no due process whatsoever around it.
It's intriguing how the "law-and-order" crowd are the very people so willing to suspend the very fundamentals of that system.
There's nothing to say that Canada's securities laws need to be revisited and reviewed in light of the Bre-X scandal, but let us not lose sight of the fact that any restatement of that legislation has to be carefully considered. Too broad a brush and we will create an environment where lawsuits and accusations of fraud will happen the moment a company hits a rough quarter.
Friday, July 13, 2007
Guilty Lord Black
I'm not going to shed too many tears over Conrad Black being found guilty ... at least on some of the charges.
Don't cheer just yet - Black and his lawyers could draw this out on appeal for years, and he may never actually serve a day in prison. (As a matter of fact, he only has to wait long enough to convince Bush II to grant a pardon, and he gets off with nothing ... and don't think for a moment this isn't on Lord Black's mind) What is going to happen with the myriad appeals to come out of this is anybody's guess - I wouldn't want to speculate. (I wouldn't be too unhappy to see Black spend a few years in a cell - but I haven't exactly liked the man and his attitude since long before the whole Hollinger fiasco blew up)
I'll give the jury credit - it appears that they weighed each charge and defendant carefully, and made their findings carefully. It would have been very easy for the Jury to either throw the book at the lot of them, or throw it all out simply to get the negotiations over with.
Lord Black has, unfortunately, fostered a rather arrogant, distant public image. (Referring to your shareholders as what amounts to fools doesn't help) I think his attitude towards his shareholders is one of entitlement, and one that allowed him to self-justify his actions towards shareholders.
Don't cheer just yet - Black and his lawyers could draw this out on appeal for years, and he may never actually serve a day in prison. (As a matter of fact, he only has to wait long enough to convince Bush II to grant a pardon, and he gets off with nothing ... and don't think for a moment this isn't on Lord Black's mind) What is going to happen with the myriad appeals to come out of this is anybody's guess - I wouldn't want to speculate. (I wouldn't be too unhappy to see Black spend a few years in a cell - but I haven't exactly liked the man and his attitude since long before the whole Hollinger fiasco blew up)
I'll give the jury credit - it appears that they weighed each charge and defendant carefully, and made their findings carefully. It would have been very easy for the Jury to either throw the book at the lot of them, or throw it all out simply to get the negotiations over with.
Lord Black has, unfortunately, fostered a rather arrogant, distant public image. (Referring to your shareholders as what amounts to fools doesn't help) I think his attitude towards his shareholders is one of entitlement, and one that allowed him to self-justify his actions towards shareholders.
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