The Reckoning

Alamán’s internal self-exile in Mexico City, when he hid for nearly two years only to emerge in 1834, is discussed in as much detail as is possible for a largely undocumented episode. Having left the government along with the other ministers during 1832, he was being pursued by agents of the state and political enemies to stand trial before a congressional grand jury for his involvement in the judicial murder of Vicente Guerrero. The chapter also discusses his cordial relationship with the U.S. envoy who replaced the recalled Joel Poinsett, Anthony Butler. The fall of the Anastasio Bustamante government to an uprising led by Santa Anna is narrated, along with Alamán’s eventual trial, his spirited defense of himself, the intervention of Carlos María de Bustamante (not the president) on his behalf before the Supreme Court, and the ex-minister’s exoneration at the hands of President Santa Anna.

Testing Charges

The authority of the prosecutor to file charges is broad but not plenary. Legal systems create various mechanisms to test the quality of the evidence supporting the charges that the prosecutor files. This chapter describes and evaluates those mechanisms, including review of charges by judges, popular review of charges by grand juries and trial juries, and reconsideration of charges by prosecutors themselves. The intensity of the review of charges varies at different stages of the proceedings. The chapter compares the review available at the point of warranted arrest, warrantless arrest, grand jury, probable cause hearing, preliminary hearing, motion to dismiss, motion to suppress evidence, jury trial, bench trial, motion for judgment of acquittal, motion for new trial, appellate review of evidentiary sufficiency, and collateral proceedings.

Freedom Dreams: What Must Die in Music Therapy to Preserve Human Dignity?

This commentary was written on the week of September 28, 2020, as grand jury decisions on the killing of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, were publicly announced on news and media outlets. Six months after Breonna Taylor's brutal murder in Louisville, Kentucky (United States), justice for her life has not been actualized. The author reflects on this injustice and discusses its relationship to anti-Black violence and systemic oppression in music therapy culture and practice.

Impeachment and Removal from Office

This chapter discusses Article VIII of the Oklahoma constitution, which concerns impeachment and removal from office. Section 1 states that “the Governor and other elective state officers, including the Justices of the Supreme Court, shall be liable and subject to impeachment for wilful neglect of duty, corruption in office, habitual drunkenness, incompetency, or any offense involving moral turpitude committed while in office.” Moreover, “all elected state officers, including Justices of the Supreme Court and Judges of the Court of Criminal Appeals, shall be automatically suspended from office upon their being declared guilty of a felony by a court of competent jurisdiction.” Two other methods for removing elected officials not mentioned in Section 1 are specified in state law pursuant to Section 2. The first provides for a grand jury to accuse an official and present its findings to a district judge. The second allows the governor to instruct the attorney general to investigate an official and, if official misconduct is found, to institute proceedings in court. Section 3 designates the chief justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court as the presiding officer in an impeachment trial. Lastly, Section 4 requires senators to take an oath and specifies a two-thirds vote of those present in order to convict.

Violence, Death, and Their Consequences

Members of the May 19th Communist Organization and other of Berkman’s comrades provided support for the Black Liberation Army’s attempted robbery of a Brink’s armoured truck in Nyack, New York. In the aftermath, two policemen and a guard were killed, and several of his comrades captured. One of the get-away drivers accidently shot herself, and Berkman was called to save her life. The FBI went after him and he refused to speak before a grand jury. After seven months in jail, he was about to be indicted again. Instead he jumped bail and went underground.