ZERO ECONOMIC LOSS, BUT A 10-YEAR FELONY CHARGE

🚨 A two-square-foot piece of pool liner carried a 10-year maximum sentence.

David Hearn, 67, a three-time Olympic canoeist, was arrested in June after stopping at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool following a long bike ride. He told The Washington Post he reached into the water to feel a partially detached piece of blue liner. "I didn't vandalize anything," he said. "By the time I realized what was going on, I was being put in handcuffs."

In early July he was indicted on destruction of property. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said he had "violently" damaged the liner on June 19.

Then it fell apart. In late July, Pirro asked the court to dismiss, saying her office had learned from the Interior Department that the sealant damage came from a "flawed installation."

🔴 CNBC reports that at Friday's hearing, the prosecutor confirmed under questioning that whatever Hearn did had no economic impact on the liner, and so did not constitute destruction of property.

That is the whole case. A property crime with no property loss.

Prosecutors still want the dismissal without prejudice, keeping the door open to recharge if new evidence appears. Hearn's lawyer Steve Levin called it holding the case over his head "for the next five years" and said, "I think it's clear why they moved to dismiss the case, because they had no case."

Judge Todd Edelman said he would rule quickly. He also questioned how fast prosecutors got the indictment while still waiting on Interior Department records about the liner installation.

Should a charge with zero measurable damage be allowed to stay refilable?

#Uproar #causeanuproar #Olympics #Courts #LincolnMemorial