The YSL RICO case has proven to be more than just very interesting. It has also been very educational. Not only for teaching Judge Glanville that having secret meetings with star witnesses planning to lie on the stand is a no-no, but for the general population as well! Thousands of people have been following ThuggerDaily, who’s been doing a great job of reporting on the shenanigans coming from Glanville’s courtroom and with Anthony Michael Kreis and Andrew Fleischman there to clear up some of the denser legal concepts. But they aren’t the only ones. Derek Debus is a recent entrant to explaining the series of unfortunate events this trial has offered, but he made a big splash explaining the distinction between use and transaction immunity in lay terms.
First, why does (the concept of) immunity exist?
Imagine you catch a narcotics purchaser with drugs. That’s a “crime” but like…is it really a crime? You know what I mean?
So you don’t reeeeaaaaaally care about the drug possession…but you want to get the dealer.
— Derek Debus (@derek_debus) July 11, 2024
Now you’re probably wondering how this works when there are two legal systems who can fully prosecute their laws irrespective of the other one.
And the answer is…it’s complicated.
— Derek Debus (@derek_debus) July 11, 2024
The reason to discuss the nuances of federalism, double jeopardy, and immunity? Lil Woody, of course! As it turns out, it looks like the prosecution meant to offer use immunity to Mr. Copeland, but that may have effectively promised him transaction immunity:
But here is how the State (and judge) represented this to Copeland.
That sounds exactly like transaction immunity.
Our drug purchaser can’t be prosecuted for possessing drugs. pic.twitter.com/t7DgBWduEy
— Derek Debus (@derek_debus) July 11, 2024
This is the sort of thing that could have been cleared up if Lil Woody had a lawyer present, but of course he didn’t.
With all these miscarriages of justice going on, it would be a shame to not learn from them. Make sure you take notes!
Earlier: Law Professors Should Teach The YSL RICO Case To Their Students
Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s. He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at [email protected] and by tweet at @WritesForRent.