Federal judge blasts ATF stings

[Ichingcarpenter]

A federal judge in Los Angeles blasted the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for sting operations that he said unfairly enlist people in a "made-up crime" by offering them a huge payday for robbing a non-existent drug stash house.

Declaring those tactics "outrageous" and unconstitutional, U.S. District Court Judge Otis Wright took the unusual step last week of throwing out charges against a man arrested by ATF agents after one such sting.

"Society does not win when the Government stoops to the same level as the defendants it seeks to prosecute — especially when the Government has acted solely to achieve a conviction for a made-up crime," Wright wrote. He said the stings have done little to deter crime and instead are "ensnaring chronically unemployed individuals from poverty-ridden areas."

The ATF has quietly made those fictional stash-house robbery cases a central feature of its efforts to target violent criminals, more than quadrupling the number of stings it conducted over the past decade. Although the stings are meant to target some of the nation's most dangerous criminals, a USA TODAY investigation last year found they routinely ensnare small-time crooks who jump at the chance to score a small fortune from a few hours of work.

"The time has come to remind the Executive Branch that the Constitution charges it with law enforcement — not crime creation. A reverse-sting operation like this one transcends the bounds of due process and makes the Government the oppressor of its people," Wright wrote in a scathing 24-page order.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/03/18/judge-slams-atf-stash-house-stings/6565179/

[MrScorpio]

1. It seems that quite frequently, society's worst enemy are the law enforcers pledged to protect it nt

[Deep13]

2. Wow, an actual, successful "outrageous government conduct" defense. nt

[DiverDave]

3. Wow a judge that follows the

constitution.

Good for him, wish there were more like him.

[malaise]

4. But but but private prisons

must have prisoners - men and woman need their profits.

[LuvNewcastle]

5. I hate sting operations, generally speaking.

Even a lot of the operations that catch potential pedophiles are suspect. I think they should only be used when the government/police already have evidence or at least a very good idea that certain people are already guilty of a crime and they need to do a sting in order to finally catch them in the act. There are many instances in which people wouldn't have thought about committing these crimes until they were enticed to do it by the police. A sting operation should require the approval of a judge before it can happen, same as a search warrant.

[pipoman]

7. It is often the use of informants that is very suspect. .

They lure or set someone up, bust them, then coerce them into acting as an informant knowing that the arrest would be dismissed if defended. I was a victim of this exact scenario back in the 1980s. ..I called their bluff and refused to be their pansy, a few months later the charges against me were dismissed and the judge told the LEOs that he should never see another case like it or he would seek charges against the offending officers..

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

6. The basic problem was stated by the Roman poet Juvenal, circa AD 100

Quis custodiet ipsos custodies? -- Who watches the watchmen?

[uncommonlink]

8. Well, wadda know? A judge who follows the Constitution.

Question. Just WTF is BATFE doing drug stings? I thought that was the job of the DEA?