A federal judge chided the Department of Justice (DOJ) during a Wednesday hearing where he agreed to dismiss a trespassing charge against Newark Mayor Ras Baraka (D) that stemmed from his visit to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility earlier this month (article available here).
The court told prosecutors that the swiftness of their decision to drop the charge “suggests a worrying misstep by your office” which has now culminated in the government’s “embarrassing” retraction of the charge.
“An arrest, particularly of a public figure, is not a preliminary investigative tool. It is a severe action, carrying significant reputational and personal consequences, and it should only be undertaken after a thorough, dispassionate evaluation of credible evidence,” the court said to Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Demanovich, who was prosecuting Baraka’s case.
“Your role is not to secure convictions at all costs, nor to satisfy public clamor, nor to advance political agendas,” the judge said to the prosecutor. “Your allegiance is to the impartial application of the law, to the pursuit of truth and to the upholding of due process for all.”
The court dismissed the complaint against Baraka with prejudice, meaning the charge cannot be brought again.
Baraka was arrested May 9 while members of Congress attempted to tour Delaney Hall, a recently reopened federal immigration detention center in Newark.