Quote:
Originally Posted by Zeke
But simple things like lack of effective prosecution in a criminal trial would -- certainly -- have an affect on any civil $$$ whether admitted to by a jury or not. These things don't occur in vacuums even if we desire them to.
But it's the ONLY reason you do it, up front. (Well, unless you think you're hand is SO bad that you cannot possibly get any acquittals or mistrials, criminally.)
Proven as fallacy right off the bat.
Dumb.
Baltimore is spewing $$$ left and right over a criminal.
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Dumb? Proven?
You are correct that these things do not occur in vacuums. One reason to do a civil settlement is to squelch public disclosure of evidence that could fuel public demand for criminal prosecution.
And if you think a criminal trial
may happen, you can hedge your risk by settling before that happens. A preceding criminal conviction can be considered to more or less prove liability in a subsequent civil action.
And there's always the fact that different officials may be in charge of different aspects, with different goals. The police, for example, may have a strong aversion to any members being prosecuted, while having relatively little concern about someone-else's money being drained for a settlement.