EDITORIAL
Was justice served
or justice bought?
"Nobody has bought anyone’s silence.” said Ijirry Feld
man. attorney for the plaintiff in the Michael Jackson
child molestation case. The 14-year-old accuser was said
to bo "very happy” with the settlement, which includes
a payment of at least S10 million.
A case like this raises serious questions about the jus
tice system, and the wealthy's affect on it. There wore no
charges filed, just allegations made. There was never
anyone arrested, and there wasn't even a court case. The
opportunity to forfeit the trial was bought by Jackson.
"You could tall it the rich man's exemption in a child
molestation case," said Harlan Braun, a prominent I.os
Angeles defense attorney. "What it means is the person
who buys off a minor gets away with it. It turns these sex
cases into private disputes.”
Is Jackson guilty? it doesn't matter, and that’s not the
issue. Mon as wealthy as Jackson will always have the
opportunity to pay off a crime that may or may not have
been committed and never spend a day in court, let
alone behind bars. If Jackson is guilty, is simply paying
off the victim punishment enough for him? With an esti
mated wealth of more than SI 50 million, the settlement
probably seems like pocket change. Obviously his career
will never be the same, but that goes with the turf.
But consider the victim. If the incident did happen,
then a monetary settlement for punitive damages should
bo awarded. In this particular case, there is little threat
of a man like Jackson actually seeking the victim for
revenge. In California, the victim of sexual abuse can’t
be forced to testify. Certainly a 14-year-old boy has little
concern as to whether Jackson soends time in jail. Jack
son poses no threat, so why bother testifying? It seems
the case was bought out by the plaintiff and sold out by
the defendant.
Gill Garcetti, Los Angeles district attorney, said the
settlement will not stop the proceedings of the case.
"The District Attorney’s Office is taking Mr. Feldman
(attorney for the boy) at his word that the alleged vic
tim will be allowed to testify and that there has boon
no agreement in the civil matter that will affect cooper
ation in the criminal investigation," Garcetti said.
In the Jackson case, it worked out well for both sides.
The boy received punitive damages that he may have
received had Jackson been found guilty, and Jackson
takes a small dent in his savings — costs the court may
have forced him to pay anyway. For Jackson, the finan
cial damage was done whon the boy first came forward,
in the money lost from his abandoned "Dangerous"
world tour, as well as the endorsements that Jackson
will never see again.
The true loser in the case Is the American public,
which may or may not believe that justice has been
served. A victim of a crime, lured by money, has the
opportunity to let the alleged criminal buy his way out
of court. Certainly this is not the first case of its kind,
and, unfortunately, it won’t be the last. As for Jackson,
there are still lawsuits pending against him from pro
moters and former security guards. There is a good
chance those will be resolved tho same way.
Oregon Daily
Emerald
PO 00* Jiw luGtHt ORtGOtt?
The iVeycv' Om!y l mtr&a n putr.shed dacy Monday through Friday dumg me school
yea; and Tuesday and Thursday dunng me summer By me Oregon Daily Emerald
PuBh»»>.no Co. me' al the On.vma.ty ot Oegon. f ugene Oregon
The f mersrd operates independently ot the University with otticaa at Suite 300 ot the
E.B Memorial Unn>n and is a member ot the Associated Pieas
the fmeraM .a pnvate property Tt>e untawM removal o> use ot papers .s prosecutable
By law
Editor-ln-Chlet Jane Berg
Managing Editor Ca«ey Andetson Sports Edllot Steve Mms
Edltotial Editor Oavtd Thom Editorial Editor Je« Pettier dl
Qtaphke Editor Jett Pasiay Photo Editor Anthony Forney
Fieelance Editor Jett Winters Supplements Editor Kaiy Soto
Night Editor: Katy Soto
Associate Edltore: Edward Kioptenstem. Student Go«ommonEAclivitrea Rebecca Merritt.
Commun.ty Juhe Swensen, rsghm £ ducahorvAdu.m shafton
News Stall: Mandy Baucum W.ison Chan Dave ChaiBonnoau. Jim Dates Meg Oedotpr
Amy Devenpon. Caia Echevama. Maka I wksa. Man... I sber Saiah Henderson.. Heathen*
Mattes Vin long Eeong Manus Meiand Tnsia Noel. [ .sobeth Reenstyerna RobWe Reeves
Eca Sem-vne Mchaei Sh.ncSe. Scott Simonson Stephan* Sisson. Susanne Steltens Juke
Swensen Mchele Thompson Aguiar. Kevin Tripp Amy Van Tuyt. Dame West
Oeneral Manager: Judy Red
Advertising Director Mart. Walter Production Manager: Mx-hoie Rosa
Advertising: Suba Dulta. Ntoie Merjmark Teresa Isabelle Je« Maron Jeremy Mason
Michael Mnefle, Van V O'Bryan II. Rachael TiuS. Kelsey Wekek. Angie Wmdhem
C las silled Becky Merchant. Manager Velor Mm*. Sen Tie Teck
Distribution Andy Harvey. John Long, Graham Stmpeon
Business Kathy Carbone. Supervisor Judy CoonoHy
Production: Dee McCobb Production Coon*n*lor Shawna Abete Greg Desmond. Tsrs
(iaWtney Bred Joss. Stacy Mtchell. Jenmler Roland. Nall Thangv*. Clayton Vss
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COMMENTARY
‘Emerald’ mishandled charges
By Young-Tak Chough
Speaking in terms of
physics, I am experiencing
0 quantum electrodynamir:
transition from a charged statu to
a charge-fn>e stain .Some simple
physit s wo i nn do hero If you
tarry any el« trie charge. you will
fool force when you nro plated in
anelnctrit field Likewise, if you
are legally • barged, you will suf
fer a miserable lot of pressure
from the fori e field called ■■jiiilr
ual law." So folks, liewan* of any
kind of charges Klectromagnet
ic i barge is hazardous for your
health and a legal charge is lethal
for your life as an ordinary
human
From a mathematical view
point. there should la* no differ
ence il the charge is neutralized
and you are returned to yester
day s pure state It could have
been so if it were not for the
malicious longue of some third
class journalism. Thanks to such
premature journalism, a name is
dishonored unjustly and suffer
ings begin and last even if the
charge has been removed. The
article on the front page of the
Emerald of Nov. 12. 1993.
regarding my nonsensical case,
makes one wonder why this
article megaphoned my poor
name all over the village. Was it
to warn people that our Univer
sity was in danger? Or was it
that the reporter simply enjoyed
the thrill and fun of revealing an
Asian guy’s name in such a cir
cumstance?
If it was to warn the society,
what if the allegation turns out
to be false and a pure libel? The
courthouse is down there
because there is always such a
possibility and that possibility
must he completely respected
Nevertheless, the Emerald
wasn’t even satisfied with its
first article (indeed, second,
including the one that appeared
in the police beat a couple of
days before) and brought up the
case again in an editorial a week
later (Nov. 19). And it alleged
that our campus was in danger
because a criminal was walking
in daylight.
How strange. And how dare
the University newspaper over
ride the legal procedure of the
society In i filling an innocent
person a criminal, in such a hur
ry' How dure they be so sure
when the professional lawyers
in the courthouse weren't? Par
ticularly now. when the case has
been thrown into the prosecu
tor's garbage can, 1 am very curi
ous about how the Emerald w ill
respond to these questions.
Please do not say you guvs went
pursuing the human right or
safety first You know you have
just c reated a blow of dreary
wind on this campus, where
people's minds are wandering
in consequent gloom.
The university has existed
since the 12th century and it has
been the center, the loader, and
the succ essor of the culture of
the society, to my understand
ing How the university is per
forming sue h a role may be lies!
known by looking at the univer
sity newspaper, someone said.
And a newspaper is most easily
evaluated by its editorial, which
is a common word. However, 1
am surprised to see that the arti
cles, including the opinion c ol
umn. of the Emerald are essen
tially about nothing other than
sexism, racism, or crimes and
violence Was today's problem
in American society the Bob
bitts' case or a senator's diary?
Such c ases are simply a mat
ter of people who reside beyond
the two-sigma tail of a normal
distribution. These are not a
global problem of modern
Americ an society. Students'
delxites about such matters con
tribute nothing to the welfare of
this society or to themselves.
They are not what university
students are supposed to take
care of Let the law or the soci
ety do that Just leave matters to
the commercial magazines to
deal with, for we have other,
much more meaningful things to
COMMENTARY
The Oregon Daily Emerald welcomes commentaries from the
public concerning topics of interest to the University commu
nity.
Commentaries should be between 800 and 800 words, legi
ble, signed and the identification of the writer must be verified
when the letter is submitted.
The Emerald reserves the right to edit any letter for length or
styfar; ~ ~ -——
take care of — things that must
be taken care of by us. not by
those out there.
A university newspaper
should find some more creative,
some more contributory sub
jects. There are lots of them.
Talk about the reality of the L.A.
quake and our measures. Talk
about the problems of high
school education in this society,
if any. Talk about celebrated
authors' recent publications.
Talk about art and literature.
Talk about our environment and
the drying up of fossil fuel last’s
talk about constructive subjects
and let's not talk about sex any
more, Mv case was apparently a
serious matter in the communi
ty, according to the allegation,
but it shouldn't have been treat
ed the way it was in the timer- j
aid It didn't deserve a square |
inch of the valuable space on |
the front page and my name was
not something that should have |
appeared on it.
The article on that front page
calling my name without the
court's confirmation has clearly
demonstrated that this paper
positions itself somewhere
beyond the three-sigma tail of
the quality distribution of news
papers. I mean, to the left! timer
aid. my dearest, please find the
philosophy or the ethics of a
newspaper before writing an
article and show it to your col
leagues. If you can't find it any
where on this continent, go to
Europe or give a visit to Asia
and take a look at how they are
doing in those places. If found,
thoroughly observe it so as to
interact constructively with the
academic community of the
University, rather than to keep
chattering sensuous gossips.
Young-Tak Chough is a grad
uate student in physics at the
l Iniversity.