Saturday, December 21, 2013

Hogsett Speaks Out at Knights of Columbus

I had the privilege of attending a Knights of Columbus event where Joe Hogsett, the U.S. attorney for the southern district of Indiana, was the featured speaker. Hogsett spoke for about 15 minutes about his background, the role of a US attorney, and then took a few questions from the audience. 

Hogsett mentioned that he had a past life in electoral politics, but seemed to downplay it during the speech. He jokingly said that the school all U.S. district attorneys attend encourages anyone who wants to make policy to resign and run for office. He then reflected he had done that and it didn't work out (he lost a U.S. Senate race to Dan Coats)so he's encouraged to stick with the job he had. 

Hogsett mentioned that when he first got the job, friends and family would mistakenly congratulate him on becoming the Attorney General or a federal judge. So he set out to define what a U.S. district attorney actually does.

Hogsett had a long and impressive list of successful prosecutions at his disposal, ranging from prosecuting foreign nationals living and working within the United States to those involved in human trafficking and public corruption. Most reading this blog are probably aware of most of these cases. But he also mentioned knowing when not to take a case to trial is a decision that he struggles with, but is something all prosecuting attorneys face at one time or another.

What I found most interesting was the first prosecution he mentioned. He said there was a successful drug bust of marijuana early on in his time in charge of the southern district. The drug bust was nicknamed "Operation Five Dollar Foot Long" because the drugs were concealed in Subway packaging. He said 8,000 pounds of marijuana was ceased valued at $5,000,000. I found it interesting that Hogsett highlighted this case first even as the War on Drugs wanes in popularity.

Hogsett emphasized that while much of the major crime noted by mainstream media outlets occurs in the central Indiana area, the district covers 60 counties and some of the deadliest cases happen outside of the Indianapolis area. He said that in the town of Laurel, a shooting ended in five deaths because of a prescription drug deal that went south. He emphasized that a random act of violence can happen anywhere and that it isn't simply an urban or a rural issue.

Hogsett took several questions from the audience, many concerning the topic of violence and how situations too often escalate to physical violence or gun violence too quickly. But the best question was saved for last, where an attendee questioned Hogsett on the effectiveness of the War on Drugs and where he sees how the War might evolve over the next 10 years. Hogsett said that, as a US district attorney, his role isn't to make policy but to enforce the law. Hogsett spoke in generalities, saying that he doesn't believe the legalization argument that taxation and regulation will solve the problems that drug use has on society. He pointed specifically to prescription drugs, which are taxed and regulated, as a growing concern for prosecutors across the country. He did say he'd like to see more rehabilitation so that those who have served their time and can be placed back into society and become productive citizens have the ability to do so.

Hogsett stuck around for a few minutes after the speech and I got a chance to ask him about gun violence, specifically about the involvement of underage youth. I mentioned a story of a 17 year old kid who was picked up with a loaded pistol that had an altered serial number. He said that, unfortunately, the Department of Justice's country-wide policy is that the prosecution of juveniles are left to local authorities but that his office can deal with these situations in more general terms, such as how they obtained a firearm. I also asked him that, with the recent counterfeit currency bust, what should people do if they encounter any on the street. He said to either call the IMPD or the local Secret Service office (317-635-6420).

While I was talking with Hogsett, another attendee came up to him and said he'd support him if he ran for Mayor and Hogsett just grinned. The attendee mentioned Ed DeLaney is also considering and Hogsett said "Ed is a good guy."


10 comments:

  1. Hmm another empty suit or is he for real????? Joe Hogsett - 80 percent empty 20 percent real.... In five years you will be able to print (3D) a gun! Ask him what he is going to propose to stop that???? That will define him in my eyes!

    My favorite quote from Robert Heinlein's "An armed society is a polite society!", think about that when you propose gun control.

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    1. I'm certainly no gun control pusher, but I have no problem recognizing that there are too many guns that are in the wrong hands. I know that's a line that is a talking point that has been trotted out by gun control advocates, but I genuinely mean that and not in a way to take guns away from law abiding citizens.

      But when a kid has the connections to get a gun with an altered serial number, something that to the best of my knowledge, is not an easy thing to do nor an easy thing to obtain, that is a problem.

      But there's also a bit of a "chicken or the egg" argument going on here too. Similar to panhandling, if we just had a more adequate number of law enforcement officers on the street doing their regular beats, I think some of these problems would resolve themselves.

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  2. cool, you've learned how to write a puff piece

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    1. I hope you'll accept a full refund of the money you paid to access this free blog. Maybe you'll use it to start your own.

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  3. Hey Indy Student don't reply to those idiots - your remarks are excellent! The problem with cops are their hands are tied. The old days they would go talk to the parents and the parents would talk to the kids. Have a friend on the force when he first started he would be nice to the kids he busted and take them home. Then the parents would turn on him for busting their poor innocent boy. He said it wasn't worth it and started to just take them to juve! The courts are over loaded and so are the social workers. Your right we need way more money in the system all across the board. But stadiums come first!!!! ;) guy77money my google account is not working!

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  4. Hey the panhandlers on the east side (Washington street and German Church) seemed to be organized. It was weird stopped by to get some business cards for my blog - and you could tell they had the whole parking lot staked out in an organized manor. I talked to one of them and the story I got was one of the most bull shit one I ever heard. The panhandlers downtown are more real. I hope ya get what I mean. Might run that by a counsel man and see it this is legal. There were none up by WalMart or Sams Club. Do private business owners decide who can panhandle in their parking lot? Seemed weird. guy77money (yes it is me! :) )

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    1. Along Washington Street between the Sam's Club and McDonald's, sometimes you'll see signs that say "Don't give to panhandlers, call XXX-XXX-XXXX" which is IMPD's main office number. But in the two years the "no panhandling at or near intersections" has passed, that's the extent I've seen of its enforcement.

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    2. People do call these numbers that may be why there are no panhandlers up that way. guy77money

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  5. I didn't explain it very good. Those panhandlers I saw on the east side seem to me that they all live together and are part of a clan. It's almost like they are organized as a group. Not the ones you see downtown that know each other but go their separate ways. It's like a job I wonder if this is how they bring relatives into the country.

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  6. Its pleasure to read such great post.

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