Judge Again Asks Tommy Thompson For Gold Location

[eyemustdigtreasure]

Every six months, the judge asks the same question. Where are the 500 gold coins that were struck from gold bars recovered from the 1857 SS Central America shipwreck...??
The drama continues..........(will he ever talk?)

Judge again asks Tommy Thompson for gold location - News - The Columbus Dispatch - Columbus, OH

 

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[Sheldon J]

real quick... what's wrong with this picture...
Ill start with a judge who is overstepping their authority....

 

[MadPoetLaw]

real quick... what's wrong with this picture...
Ill start with a judge who is overstepping their authority....

This story certainly does raise some very interesting legal questions. Such as how does the same judge charge the same man with contempt of court on three seperate occasions for refusing to answer the same question and it not run afoul of the double jeparody provisions in the constitution? Furthermore what on earth is civil contempt? Is not all contempt of court a criminal case?

I do think hes most likely guilty and its good that the investigators are doing all they can in that regard but even still that does not justify bending the laws or worse his constitutional rights.

 

[dejapooh]

This story certainly does raise some very interesting legal questions. Such as how does the same judge charge the same man with contempt of court on three seperate occasions for refusing to answer the same question and it not run afoul of the double jeparody provisions in the constitution? Furthermore what on earth is civil contempt? Is not all contempt of court a criminal case?

I do think hes most likely guilty and its good that the investigators are doing all they can in that regard but even still that does not justify bending the laws or worse his constitutional rights.

Each time he refuses to answer is a separate case of Contempt of Court. Double Jeopardy does not apply.

 

[Sheldon J]

Each time he refuses to answer is a separate case of Contempt of Court. Double Jeopardy does not apply.

Still it is a civil case, no actual laws have been violated....

 

[PirateLabs]

Still it is a civil case, no actual laws have been violated....

Contempt of court is a violation of law in that you can lose your money (fine) or freedom (jail) or both. This can happen in any court be it civil or criminal.

Bill

 

[Honest Samuel]

Let this crook rot in jail until he gives the judge the whole story. He is a sorry excuse for a treasure hunter and a human being.

 

[MadPoetLaw]

This smells an aweful lot like technicality to me. Surely there must be an end to it somewhere before cruel and unusual kicks in. And what of his miranda rights? Right to remain silent and not self incriminate seems to apply to me.

 

[Mackaydon]

The 'right to remain silent and not self incriminate' has consequences--and Thompson is experiencing them now.
His position is (as the idiom goes) 'between the devil and the deep blue sea'.
Don.......

 

[Sheldon J]

Contempt of court is a violation of law in that you can lose your money (fine) or freedom (jail) or both. This can happen in any court be it civil or criminal.

Bill

how can you have contempt of when there is no legal reason for them the be there in the first place.... this is a judge full of them self being pushed by someone who is contributing to his election campaign....

 

[Honest Samuel]

All members: What would you do if you were in his place?

 

[dejapooh]

The fifth amendment rights do not apply. They are asking for a signature on a piece of paper, not an admission of wrong doing. Further, they seem to have enough evidence to get a search warrant in an American Court, so they can force his permission to search the box in another country. The fifth does not apply.

 

[dejapooh]

how can you have contempt of when there is no legal reason for them the be there in the first place.... this is a judge full of them self being pushed by someone who is contributing to his election campaign....

You don't know what evidence was presented to the judge that gave him probably cause to order the search of the box. Once he has probable cause, he can order the search. In this case, because the box is in another country, they are ordering him to grant permission for the search. He is refusing and that is contempt.

 

[Sheldon J]

You don't know what evidence was presented to the judge that gave him probably cause to order the search of the box. Once he has probable cause, he can order the search. In this case, because the box is in another country, they are ordering him to grant permission for the search. He is refusing and that is contempt.

can you say circumstantial evidence which is inadmissible, this judge is offering an opinion not law..
they have filed on guess, no actual verifiable proof he did this, only accusations, and assumptions so this is not valid...
In my 65 years I have learned one thing about the legal system... It is corrupt, politically biased and motivated, that t he guilty often go free, and all too often those who are not guilty go to jail because they could not afford a real lawyer but had to settle on a public defender who is appointed by the prosecutors office... can you say messed up when the defense attorney answers to the prosecutor.......

 

[dejapooh]

can you say circumstantial evidence which is inadmissible, this judge is offering an opinion not law..
they have filed on guess, no actual verifiable proof he did this, only accusations, and assumptions so this is not valid...
In my 65 years I have learned one thing about the legal system... It is corrupt, politically biased and motivated, that t he guilty often go free, and all too often those who are not guilty go to jail because they could not afford a real lawyer but had to settle on a public defender who is appointed by the prosecutors office... can you say messed up when the defense attorney answers to the prosecutor.......

Not sure which law school you went to, but Circumstantial evidence is admissible in court. It is generally not enough to get a conviction, but it is enough to get a search warrant (which is what this is about). I don't know what evidence was presented in this case. If you know, you could tell us what evidence there is.

The legal system is corrupt. Those who are willing and able to spring for the big time lawyers are generally able to get off with their crimes (or at least get a greatly reduced sentence). public Defenders have the hardest job in the legal system. They have too many clients and too few resources to effectively defend all of their clients.

 

[MadPoetLaw]

The fifth amendment rights do kuchnot apply. They are asking for a signature on a piece of paper, not an admission of wrong doing. Further, they seem to have enough evidence to get a search warrant in an American Court, so they can force his permission to search the box in another country. The fifth does not apply.

how could it not apply.? If he did grant permission and that foreign box is overflowing with stolen gold coins then did he not instantly convict himself? Would he not instantly face criminal charges? Seems like that is precisely what the 5th ammendment is about. He is being imprisioned for reserving the right to remain silent.

 

[Sheldon J]

Not sure which law school you went to, but Circumstantial evidence is admissible in court. It is generally not enough to get a conviction, but it is enough to get a search warrant (which is what this is about). I don't know what evidence was presented in this case. If you know, you could tell us what evidence there is.

The legal system is corrupt. Those who are willing and able to spring for the big time lawyers are generally able to get off with their crimes (or at least get a greatly reduced sentence). public Defenders have the hardest job in the legal system. They have too many clients and too few resources to effectively defend all of their clients.

You are right about one thing... The legal system is corrupt and it is hugely corrupt! you do realize Circumstantial is evidence that they have no proof of existence, basically here say, and innuendos... AKA he said, she said as in bar talk or a nosey neighbor that thinks you buried someone just because you planted a tree.... Somehow corrupt just seems in sufficient a term when any stranger can make a baseless accusation and you are screwed....

 

[clv]

A true Priate right to the end

 

[PirateLabs]

A true Priate right to the end

ARRRRR!

Bill

 

[Honest Samuel]

Hopefully, he refused to talk to the judge, and spent the rest of his life in jail, which is a good thing, being, that he is a crook.