From the Washington Post article:
No, not rape, but a felony.
@4MyKidz : I seriously doubt he could be prosecuted at this point. I’m not an expert on the ins and outs of Alabama law but it would be rare for such an old case to be able to be brought in any state. I doubt that I could even fit such a case within the statute of limitations in California, where the rules have changed many times over the last few decades, since you have to start with an extension of the limitations period BEFORE the one in effect at the time of the crime expired. With an alleged offense this old, that’s not likely – whatever changes Alabama might or might not have made in the intervening years.
Moore is holding a town hall Q and A at a local Christian school tonight. I will be interested to see if he is grilled on this issue (crime) or given a pass.
Well they applauded him at the library…so we’ll see.
^SMH
So you’re saying the minute the statute of limitations expires on my crime, I’m home free? The legislature can’t extend the statute of limitations to get me, once it expires, even if they find my diary admitting to the crime, plus my video of me committing it, and they dig up the five bodies, bwa ha ha?
That makes sense. Is it true for both federal and state crimes?
I don’t think there are statutes of limitations on murder.
No statute of limitations on murder. What’s this about bodies ;)?
There’s a statute of limitations on involuntary manslaughter though. I will argue that I accidentally ran over them with a truck and backed over them fourteen times. Accidents happen.
That is correct as far as the statute of limitations is concerned, @“Cardinal Fang”. I simplified the explanation, but you got it.
Not sure about the federal crimes. I do not believe that there is a statute of limitations on the federal offense of deprivation of civil rights, which is why you can still see prosecutions for the murder of civil rights workers from the 60s. I do not believe that the allegations against “Judge” Moore could be prosecuted as such, and the “president” and “attorney general” would never allow it in any event.
Actually, I just reread your scenario, @“Cardinal Fang”, and you are still on the hook for the homicides, since killing someone is the ultimate deprivation of civil rights. Get yourself a good lawyer. Federal jurisdiction over your crimes may still be problematic.
I read something on Politico that it is possible for McConnell not to seat Moore even if he wins. I wouldn’t hold my breath, but I didn’t realize that this was a possibility.
ETA: It was a NY Times article!
I was looking at a Wikipedia list of expelled US Senators. The last ones were during the Civil War. There were people more recently who were investigated but resigned before they could be expelled. Even Bob Packwood took 3 years from initial allegations to him resigning. 19 women had come forward in that time, accusing him of sexual harassment and/or assault.
If McConnell won’t seat him, then I assume the governor of AL (a Republican) gets to pick his replacement. I assume she would keep R-Luther Strange (current appointee, lost to Moore in the primary) in the seat.
I’d crawl over broken glass to vote against Moore if I lived in Alabama, but I can’t see the justification for refusing to seat him if he’s elected. The voters have had a chance to hear the allegations, after all. If they nevertheless decide to elect him, that’s their choice.
If credible charges come up during a Senator’s term, that’s a different story. But the voters know all this.
I think refusing to seat him gives the national party a (sort of) tidy way to get rid of the problem. I don’t see them sweating whether there is justification.
The majority shouldn’t be able to refuse to seat someone just because they don’t like the person. Otherwise they could boot anyone in the minority party if they didn’t like them.
But the party says who is in their caucus. The Republicans could say to Sen. Moore, “You’re not a Republican. You’re not in our caucus, you’re not on any committees, begone.” He would still be a Senator and he could still vote, but Senators from both parties could shun him if they wanted.
Yes, the G.O.P. Can Block Roy Moore
The Republicans aren’t powerless to prevent Alabama from sending him to the Senate.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/12/opinion/roy-moore-accusations-congress.html
What seems odd in that poll is that 53% were age 65 and older. That seems to be a really skewed sample in age demographics. Now, older people do vote more often, but do they really make up half of likely voters?
It was a landline only poll, which would explain the age skew. Doesn’t look like they re-weighted for age.
But I would have guessed that older voters would be more, not less, supportive of Moore. And they were, in the poll. If you reweight for a more probable age mix, the poll is better for Jones and worse for Moore.