Should Secret Service Agents enjoy legal immunity?

Legal Immunity for the SS in treatment of protestors or others. That seems to be the question at hand, and it's a question they are asking with a serious edge to it. What happened? Lets have a look....

Anti-Bush protesters had notified the police in advance about their plans for a "multigenerational" and peaceful protest. About two hours after they began to gather, however, the Secret Service, purportedly in the interest of security, ordered state and local police to clear the street of anti-Bush protesters and move the gathering two blocks away.

They complained that pro-Bush demonstrators and other guests at the inn were meanwhile not forced to move or to undergo security screening.

In the new location far from the president's cottage, police allegedly divided the anti-Bush group and encircled its members, preventing them from leaving. Protesters say the police eventually pushed, clubbed and shot pepper spray at them.

Let freedom ring ....with the sounds of empty pepper cans hitting the pavement and meaty thuds as batons meet American flesh and bone for the nerve of protesting. Hmpf!

Well, they lost the first go around on this immunity nonsense, so they are at it again.

With more detailed claims, the appellate panel denied qualified immunity to agents Tim Wood and Rob Savage in April 2012.

The Supreme Court granted Wood and Savage's petition for certiorari late Tuesday without comment, as is its custom.

Wood and Savage want the court to resolve two questions. The first asks "whether the Court of Appeals erred in denying qualified immunity to Secret Service agents protecting the president by evaluating the claim of viewpoint discrimination at a high level of generality and concluding that pro-and anti-Bush demonstrators needed to be positioned an equal distance from the president while he was dining on the outdoor patio and then while he was travelling by motorcade."

Source: Courthouse News

I'll let you check out the story to see the second point of process they are fighting this on, but it boils down to whether SS Agents should be immune from legal recourse to their actions and occasional abuses. Are they SO special, they should literally be above most forms of law and accountability?

I think not.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


Should the Secret Service have legal immunity?

@#$% NO!!!

The moment anyone is allowed to be above the law is the moment we have failed as a society.

-Peace-

I am British and so I dont know your rules over the pond. Although I am thinking the very same thing here in the UK. SIR jimmy savile. Mentor to prince charles and a great family friend of the royals. Was raping children in hospitals and molesting any child that he could get his grubby hands on. Almost 50 years of doing it in full view of the public. When complaints were made they were crushed like midges as he used to say. It must be because he was a member of MI5, or thats what is now being said. So I guess the same thing applies to you lot. No I dont think that any one should be above the law. Not even the queen. Heads of state should also be accounted for their crimes. I`m still waiting for that tony bliar to be arrested for his war crimes. Bush and the rest of the gang also across the pond.

Immunity simply guarantees abuse - always. That's why there is law, and NO ONE should be above it, though being human seems to entail an aversion to accepting responsibility. Being Noble once entailed taking responsibility, such as taking up arms to defend King and Country. Nowadays, so-called Nobles seem all too often, to be the moral dregs of society.

As soon as you create a position of power, certain personality types are drawn to it. Hence why the church has so many problems. Police, etc… Immunity? Only applies to spies.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


Im am sick of hearing about legal immunity, people break laws then prosecute them simple as that. The biggest problem with America is its NSA has immunity from law. This is Nazi Germany in operation. Agencies need to be held accountable and act within limits of laws to protect people doing as they please. The government failure or unwillinglyness to regulate and oversight its NNSA and black ops is lazy, and irresponsible and id say for every innocent circumvented by these agencies they government should be held liable under law for paying compensation. This argument goes for the secret service as well. Really what it boils is down to is Bullies should not be allowed off the hook for their actions.

SS kinda makes you think? SS i mean what a great pr name.

Anyway as far as im concerned any politician should just be protected by normal police. If they get assasinated? Tough you were obviously doing a crap job and a politician what ever the level is easy replaced, not like there is a shortage of power hungery manipulative sociopaths about right?

Here is the problem with legal immunity.

The educational system has done a stellar job of eliminating any kind of moral compass from most people. The officials have then done an even better job of picking out those with zero moral compass as their staff.

This means that when a person who has a gun and authority over others is not held to the same legal standard as the rest of us is free to pepper spray people in the face because he feels like it, or wants to teach them a lesson. The lesson giver in these cases has no need for a moral compass because the law says he's fine to do as he pleases. What relying on the "law" as the moral standard does is fully and completely eliminate any need for a moral compass. With regard to any moral issue one simply says: "damn it, is it legal or not?!" There is large class of people, especially the "official" class for which this is the only issue at all. Worse, if it isn't legal then go to the king and get him to make it legal - or vice versa.

The result is amoral authority figures. Those they come in contact with have no recourse in either the legal world or the moral world. When this happens the cattle simply obey the wrangler without a fuss, as the wrangler is ordained as the bringer of control. Ask yourself, "what right does the cow have protest the wranglers morality and treatment?" Then ask yourself: "how am I different from cattle?"

Nope, sorry. This is the USA, everyone needs to be accountable to the people (through the judicial branch). No one gets a get out of jail free card. If there was an option I would even get rid of the Chief of State's ability to pardon criminals.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000

Should Secret Service Agents enjoy legal immunity?

There are a LOT of legal immunities built in that have never really been tested in court. The last one I recall that broke the iron door was a member of a foreign delegation (Russiian if I recall right) that was involved in a deadly drunk driving accident. The nation was fed up and raised hell. Anyway, the laws were changed, and this guy stood trial, was found guilty and was sent home to do his sentence.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


So they can become the next US gestapo police? I thought Obama was already working on that, in order to create a national security that will be equal to was used to be the military in the nation.