Aaron's Real Opinions (Yikes!)

Legal Debate Heats Up
07-07-05

On "The Aaron Harber Show" tonight (KBDI-TV Channel 12 at 9:00 pm, Friday, July 8th) and this Sunday (2:00 pm, Sunday, July 10th), Mitch Morrissey, the new Denver District Attorney, is the featured guest. Joining Morrissey are former Denver D.A. and current national legal commentator Norm Early and two famed defense attorneys, each of whom has served as President of the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar -- Larry Pozner and Phil Cherner.

This program picks up the pace and addresses the following questions:

(1) "Do people lie in court under oath all the time?" I argue that people are dishonest yet get away with it constantly -- undermining the entire legal system and causing the integrity of the entire Legal System to be called into question.

(2) "Why is circumstantial evidence often more important than eyewitness evidence?" D.A. Mitch Morrissey opines that circumstantial evidence can be more convincing than eyewitness evidence because eyewitness accounts can vary so much and often become unreliable.

(3) "Aren't snitches completely unreliable?" The two defense attorneys argue that jailhouse snitches are totally unreliable and shouldn't be used. Understandably, the D.A.'s get defensive on this topic (see #1, above, for the reason why!)

(4) "If everyone could afford a complete defense, would the Legal System come to a grinding halt?" My argument is the Legal System overwhelmingly favors the rich and that if everyone had the same defense provided to them, the District Attorney's office would be choked. The D.A.'s disagreed with me.

(5) "Why was Denver's Drug Court -- a national model -- dropped?" My concern was that Denver had a model system which worked well but was dropped. I wanted to know why because it seemed selfish for the Drug Court to be ended simply because no judge wanted to do it any more.

(6) "Is it a Conflict of Interest for the District Attorney's office to investigate police shootings?" It seems obvious to me that there is a need for an autonomous, independent entity to investigate cases in which civilians are killed by police officers. No matter how good a job the police do or how independent the new Monitor is, having the D.A.'s office investigate the people it works with so closely is a mistake.

The program is the second in a two-part series on the Criminal Justice System and how in works in Denver. You'll enjoy both shows but I admit the second one is better than the first.

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Aaron Harber hosts "The Aaron Harber Show," seen Fridays at 9:00 pm and Sundays at 2:00 pm on PBS Station KBDI-TV Channel 12. Please go to www.HarberTV.com for more information. Send your comments and topic suggestions for both columns and TV shows to Aaron@HarberTV.com. You also may view programs on a 24/7 basis via the "Broadcast Videos" section of the Website. Many of Aaron's columns also are available on the Website on the page entitled "Aaron's Opinions." You often can find them in The Colorado Statesman (www.ColoradoStatesman.com) as well as in The Denver Daily News (www.DenverDailyNews.com).

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