David Ralston and the Delay of Justice

And you thought the days of big boss politics were over…

I’m from Illinois, so I’m used to tales of corruption and abuse of power. Four of Illinois’s last seven Governors have gone to prison. Most recently, Rod Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for soliciting bribes and attempting to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated when Barack Obama was elected President.

Needless to say, I’m pretty jaded. I have no illusions that all politicians are morally upstanding do-gooders. But every once in a while, there is a story about political corruption that is so outrageous even I don’t want to believe it. That’s where David Ralston comes in.

David Ralston is a criminal defense attorney. He is also the Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives— a position he uses to help his clients subvert the criminal justice system. As an investigation by the Atlanta Journal Constitution (AJC) and Channel 2 Action news recently found,

“Ralston appears to be misusing the power of his public office to benefit his private law practice. By doing no more than writing letters to judges declaring that court dates interfere with his lawmaking duties, he has been able to keep cases perpetually off the docket. But his tactics can thwart justice, harm crime victims and put the…