No you can NOT"Indict a ham sandwich". That's BALONEY!

[elehhhhna]

The cReeps are parroting that line right now & they are confused (as ususal) about our legal system. One can SUE or file suit against a ham sandwich. It would be virtually impossible, however, to persuade a Grand Jury hand down an indictment of said ham sandwich. Surely the ham sandwich would be no-billed.

Please, DU'ers--Friends don't let friends confuse civil law with criminal law.

[0007]

1. Right on!

You can whip my potatoes but ya can't beat my spuds

[unblock]

2. uhm, sorry, but they've got the expression right

the old legal saw is that a good prosecutor can convince a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich. the expression is meant to mock this step as any real protection against errant prosecutions because charismatic prosecutors can easily overwhelm grand juries.

it is true that you can actually sue virtually anyone for anything, though the result may be having your case quickly thrown out. but the "ham sandwich" quote does not relate to that.

[unblock]

3. here's a link:

apparently this old legal saw isn't quite as old as i had thought:

http://www.barrypopik.com/article/84/indict-a-ham-sandwich

"Indict a Ham Sandwich"
This famous modern legal term began in New York. It was immortalized in the Tom Wolfe novel, Bonfire of the Vanities (1987).

I spoke with Sol Wachtler, the former New York State chief judge, and he admitted that the phrase was his and was coined during a lunch interview with Marcia Kramer of the New York Daily News. Wachtler – who is Jewish – told me that he regrets that he didn’t say “pastrami” sandwich, adding that he may (surely) have been misquoted about “ham.”

From the New York Daily News, January 31, 1985, pg. 3:

New top state judge: Abolish
grand juries & let us decide
By MARCIA KRAMER
and FRANK LOMBARDI
IN A BID to make prosecutors more accountable for their actions, Chief Judge Sol Wachtler has proposed that the state scrap the grand jury system of bringing criminal indictments.

Wachtler, who became the state’s top judge earlier this month, said district attorneys now have so much influence on grand juries that “by and large” they could get them to “indict a ham sandwich.”

From pg. 46:

New York State’s top judge speaks out
DAILY NEWS
NewsMaker
Chief Judge Sol Wachtler
Sol Wachtler, newly appointed chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals, was questioned at a Daily News NewsMaker lunch this week. Following are excerpts from his discussion with senior Daily News news executives and members of the editorial board and news staff.

[elehhhhna]

6. More on Disgraced Republican Sleazy Ex-Judge Wachtler:

The affair between (Republican) Chief Judge Sol Wachtler and socialite Joy Silverman resulted in a ruined career, a family disgraced, and an intensely private affair made public.

http://www.alibris.com/search/search.cfm?qwork=1800566&wauth=Wolfe%2C%20Linda&matches=92&qsort=r&cm_re=works

[henslee]

4. Not only can you indict a ham sandwich but if that sandwich

does not have enough of a warchest ($$$) to hire solid counsel, that ham sandwich will be forced to cop a plea and will be convicted regardless of how ridiculous charges may be. BTW, the U.S government has something like a 90+ pecent conviction rate... largely due to the fact that most defendents cop pleas.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

5. I have a beef with this post. Too Cheesy. Puts us in a pickle.

Well, I better ketchup with other threads. No more rye commentary,

[RC]

7. Somebody get a rope....

[ChairmanAgnostic]

11. Mayo beg your forgiveness

Tis the season to to salt such comments away, lest we get peppered with shells. Shotgun shells.

[meow2u3]

8. Question is, can you indict the whole salami?

:think:

[elehhhhna]

9. or the whole nine enchiladas?

or a month of sundays?

[meow2u3]

12. We can indict the whole 9 yards of salami

or 27 feet of enchiladas

[ChairmanAgnostic]

13. It doesn't rhyme. It kneads a better meter.

D agony of D feat.

[McCamy Taylor]

10. SCOTUS would protect the Ham Sandwich on grounds of low IQ and high flavor