Jones: Let courts, voters decide

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 11:33:03 -0400

Rep. Earl Jones says the voters should decide on Rep. Thomas Wright.

Introducing an amendment to censure Wright, he said that expelling a legislator would subvert the democratic process. He said expulsion is not "practical, just or fair."

He argued that "clear and convincing evidence" is a lower standard than "beyond a reasonable doubt" — the standard in criminal trials — or "high crimes and misdemeanors" — the standard in the U.S. Constitution for impeachment of federal officials.

"Expulsion of a dulty elected official in this House should require the highest burden of proof," he said.

He also argued that expulsion would unfairly taint the jury pool for Wright's upcoming criminal trial.

He also offered a particularly poetic paean to democracy, from the "mountains of Asheville to the green pastures in the East" and "on the sea coast of North Carolina."

"Expulsion disenfranchises those voters, censure does not," he said.

After the jump, Jones' paean.

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Jones: Let courts, voters decide