Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2010

Your Letters

Doyle's decision

appears political

In a recent article, district attorney candidate George Murphy reportedly said the timing of the recently failed actions of incumbent Susan Doyle to revive the infamous DWI cases was politically motivated. Such characterization is consistent with the facts known.

If Mrs. Doyle made her decision to pursue the cases "long before" she had an opponent, as she told reporters recently, then why did she wait until the eve of the general election to actually pursue reviving the cases in court? Her excuse - that the delay was caused by not having the records back from Raleigh - lacks merit. Anyone familiar with the court's filing system and information available in the state's computer system about criminal cases should question her excuse as well.

As we know, everything Mrs. Doyle needed to complete the proper paperwork for reviving these cases properly was available to her in the computer system for the last couple of years. Computer access notwithstanding, does Mrs. Doyle expect us to think she did not have a chance to make copies or ask the SBI to make copies of the important documents contained in the files of those dismissed cases so she could timely address the court about reviving these cases? The culmination of these cases so close in time to her run for re-election seems just as Mr. Murphy said: It's political maneuvering.

It speaks volumes to Mrs. Doyle's effectiveness and aggressiveness in pursuing justice that after consulting all the people she said she spoke to about this situation, the only method she could come up with to revive these cases was deemed by the court to be "not proper." People want their prosecutors to be tough on crime as a prior editorial noted, but we also want them to be prepared and follow the proper legal procedures so as to see a case through to its merits.

The failure to effectively, correctly and timely pursue these cases has once again subjected the DA's office to ridicule and has done nothing to improve the public's perception of our system of justice. The opportunity to truly pursue justice was squandered by the incumbent. A previous editorial noted the "political points" Mrs. Doyle scored by even moving to revive these cases, but it fails to point out that since her procedure was not proper, and thus a failure, she has decided not to pursue cases further. Why isn't she pursuing them further? Because she waited too long to do so properly, and now it's too late.

Justice delayed is justice denied. Sitting and waiting until the eve of a general election to try to revive these cases when the necessary information was available all along and well within the statute of limitations denies the citizens of this county justice. Unfortunately, it is this type of strategy that is reflective of the incumbent's leadership and effectiveness, and the citizens of Johnston County are paying the price. Since the judge's ruling, a game of "hot potato" has ensued and has highlighted, even more, Mrs. Doyle's actions as political strategy. I keep looking for the headlines to accurately reflect the situation: "Prosecutor abandons DWI cases," but none are forthcoming. I guess it shouldn't seem strange that what was critically important for the incumbent to get before voters with November approaching is now to be forgotten since it was a failure.

Marie Mobley

Smithfield

The writer is an attorney in Smithfield.

Tea Party isn't new

I am puzzled by the news media's sudden obsession with the Tea Party movement. The media and the Left complain that people are upset with government spending only because we have a black president. This is funny to me, and I say this because I was a Tea Party person before there was a Tea Party movement.

Way back during the Bush administration, I and others were holding rallies and protesting because of wasteful government spending and high taxes. I got involved in 2006; that was two years before Obama was elected president.

When Bush pushed through the first bailout, we were protesting and saying no. Way back then, we said we were taxed enough and that government needed to control spending. We also thought government was growing too big.

Since we were protesting during the Bush years, we did not get much press coverage, because the president did not get much. But then Obama was elected president, and all of a sudden, we start making the national news. Now, for some reason, we are newsworthy.

I do have to admit that the Tea Party crowds have gotten larger, but I believe that is a result of news media coverage; for by finally covering us, they have let others know they are not alone.

One quick note: Back then we called it the Fair Tax movement, which I still support.

David Speckhardt

Selma