[Rainger99]

After this incident, is there anyone who would want to run for office in Sumter County as an outsider?

[airstreamingypsy]

Originally Posted by dewilson58

My post:
Three hours for a thread to last about a convicted felon politician

Dictionary:
verb
the simple past tense and past participle of convict.

Hope that helps you.

You're embarrassing yourself, at this point you should stop digging.

[airstreamingypsy]

Originally Posted by charlie1

I thought there were two different cases! One was the sunshine law which his partner admitted guilt. I have not seen the status of this case so may still be an open issue. What he was convicted of was "lying under oath". He was exonerated by a panel of judges due to the fact that he did later tell the truth. The perjury case, I believe, had nothing to do with his "partner" admitting guilt or the Sunshine Law case.

His partner admitted guilt because his wife was sick and he didn't have the time or resources to fight in court....... so he took the path of least resistance.

[Jo-Ski]

Think so.

[dewilson58]

Originally Posted by airstreamingypsy

You're embarrassing yourself, at this point you should stop digging.

[shortstack]

Originally Posted by alwann

Not wanting to get into a peeing contest, Mr. Sage, and I'm not a lawyer. (Perhaps you are.) But if the conviction was overturned and the man in question was exonerated, is it fair to call him a convicted felon?

Very well said Al W. I think some people say things just to push buttons. I think that Mr Sage is not up to date about Mr Millers case.

[Dlbonivich]

There has been another election since the appointment of Don Wiley He won his seat

[Steve]

Originally Posted by dewilson58

Three hours for a thread to last about a convicted felon politician ............ that's doing very well.

Conviction overturned=wrongly convicted=not guilty. Give him back his job...if he wants it.

[JGibson]

It's sad and scary what has happened to our judicial system.

He is probably wiped out financially trying to defend himself and will be traumatized the rest of his life.

[Steve]

Originally Posted by dewilson58

but he WAS convicted.............which is all my statement indicates.

The key word is "WAS". He isn't anymore.

[Roger Gallery]

Originally Posted by Dond1959

Let’s put aside that both Miller and Search violated the Sunshine Law numerous times AFTER they were told not to discuss county business in private. Both Search and Miller were terrible commissioners. Remember, they were still on the BOCC when the independent commission recommended that VPSD and Sumter Fire be combined. If not for the public outrage there would be no VPSD.

Instead of negotiating with the developer on Road Impact fees they just went ahead and crammed down huge increases for small businesses that would of stagnated small business growth here (see Don Wiley / Goldwingnut video about how much that would have cost small businesses outside of the developer). UF was so unnerved by the move they moved their planned hospital from Sumter to Lake county. Luckily the legislature stepped in to reverse the move.

Finally there was an election last year and Millers seat was filled. So if he wants to run again he can do so in 24. Why anyone would want him on the BOCC is beyond me, but hey he can try if he wants.

Good post and puts it into another perspective, I those two had a very expensive learning experience. Welcome to Florida politics; at least they didn't steal any money.

[justjim]

Regardless of your opinions my point is why is State Government meddling in local politics in the first place. Many of us came to Florida from another State where State Government (specifically the Governor) does not have the power, nor the inclination, to meddle in local politics and issues. From my experience, removal of a county Commissioner or other duly elected officials is left to local government officials. But In Florida, it appears to be different. This happens not only in Sumter county but also in other counties in the State of Florida even before a local elected official has the opportunity for due process. This borders on an authoritarian State government IMHO.

[lawgolfer]

Originally Posted by DrMack

This poor guy

Anyone posting on this topic should first read the Court's opinion.

The prosecutor focused on two statements Miller made in response to leading questions asked by the investigators. At the time, the investigators had Miller's phone records and knew that he had made phone calls to Search. While Miller answered in the negative to the leading questions, in other answers, he admitted to making phone calls in the time frame about which he was asked, but was uncertain, if not evasive, as to the dates or the topics.

In many jurisdictions, when the investigators already know a fact, such as the phone records they had at the time of the interview, Miller's answers would not be material and not prosecutable. However, as the Court explains in a footnote, Florida law is different. You can easily read into the fact that the court even discussed the issue of "materiality", that the Justices were not happy at the conduct of the investigators and recognized that they were working to get Miller to commit perjury and not to discover the true facts.

Not being able to reverse the conviction on the issue of "materiality", the Court examined Miller's false statements in the "entire context" of his many answers. Doing so, they ruled that the many contradictory answers, taken as a whole and not individually, were insufficient to support a conviction for perjury.

As a practicing attorney for 40 years who was both a Federal and State prosecutor, I fully agree with the Court's opinion. In a criminal investigation, the goal of an investigator should be to determine if a crime was committed and not to cause a crime, perjury, to be committed. Unfortunately, the latter has become a dominant tactic of many investigators and prosecutors. In simple terms, it is: " I don't know that we can build a strong enough case against him. Instead, let's see if we can get him to lie". Frankly, this is not the way our investigators and prosecutors should go about their business.

I am not for or against Miller and Search. In this case, the investigators should have had the phone records before them at the time of the interview; shown them to Miller; asked him if he made the phone calls; and, then, asked what was discussed in those calls. If Miller was evasive or, foolishly, denied making the many calls, he would have been convicted at trial for a violation of the "Sunshine" laws with near-certainty.

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by lawgolfer

Anyone posting on this topic should first read the Court's opinion.

The prosecutor focused on two statements Miller made in response to leading questions asked by the investigators. At the time, the investigators had Miller's phone records and knew that he had made phone calls to Search. While Miller answered in the negative to the leading questions, in other answers, he admitted to making phone calls in the time frame about which he was asked, but was uncertain, if not evasive, as to the dates or the topics.

In many jurisdictions, when the investigators already know a fact, such as the phone records they had at the time of the interview, Miller's answers would not be material and not prosecutable. However, as the Court explains in a footnote, Florida law is different. You can easily read into the fact that the court even discussed the issue of "materiality", that the Justices were not happy at the conduct of the investigators and recognized that they were working to get Miller to commit perjury and not to discover the true facts.

Not being able to reverse the conviction on the issue of "materiality", the Court examined Miller's false statements in the "entire context" of his many answers. Doing so, they ruled that the many contradictory answers, taken as a whole and not individually, were insufficient to support a conviction for perjury.

As a practicing attorney for 40 years who was both a Federal and State prosecutor, I fully agree with the Court's opinion. In a criminal investigation, the goal of an investigator should be to determine if a crime was committed and not to cause a crime, perjury, to be committed. Unfortunately, the latter has become a dominant tactic of many investigators and prosecutors. In simple terms, it is: " I don't know that we can build a strong enough case against him. Instead, let's see if we can get him to lie". Frankly, this is not the way our investigators and prosecutors should go about their business.

I am not for or against Miller and Search. In this case, the investigators should have had the phone records before them at the time of the interview; shown them to Miller; asked him if he made the phone calls; and, then, asked what was discussed in those calls. If Miller was evasive or, foolishly, denied making the many calls, he would have been convicted at trial for a violation of the "Sunshine" laws with near-certainty.

He seemed to get a raw deal. That does not sound like why the Sunshine Law was written with how the authorities used it in the Oren Miller case.

[Normal]

Originally Posted by Taltarzac725

He seemed to get a raw deal. That does not sound like why the Sunshine Law was written with how the authorities used it in the Oren Miller case.

Spirit and intent is all important when interpreting law. Sometimes it gets lost in the courtroom just like objectivity in the news.