MANSFIELD: Tim McGinty

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Let’s get one thing real clear: Tim McGinty is not a racist. I repeat: He’s not a racist. Now he might be a prick (something that all available evidence points towards), but he’s certainly not a racist prick.

And he’s an equal opportunity prick at that — anyone is fair game. Some pricks will only pick on weaklings, but not McGinty; in fact, he doesn’t give a flying fuck who he sticks it to, which is why I kinda admire him — at least to a point. He has a certain egalitarian flair about his prickishness (is that really a word?)

What you have to understand about McGinty is that he knows he’s a prick, and actually relishes wearing the title. He gets his jollies by knowing that he’s the biggest prick in Cuyahoga County since the legendary John T. Corrigan. And indeed, with the way he’s going, he’s on track to be an even bigger prick that his one-time mentor in terms of prickishness.

McGinty is aiming for admission (and he wants to get in on the first ballot) to the “Prick Prosecutor Hall of Fame.” He wants a statue of himself outside the Justice Center, right alongside Corrigan’s — another stiff-necked Irishman if there ever was one.

Police unions, administrative judges, the Ohio Supreme Court, other lawyers, the clergy, the black community — you name it, and McGinty is ready to go toe to toe with any and all of them if he thinks he’s in the right (which, by the way, he often is).

Like a barroom brawler (except he’s drunk on the power of the prosecutor’s office), he’ll take on all comers, secure in the knowledge that he’s real good at using tactics that are best suited for the TV broadcasts of the World Wrestling Federation, not the courtroom of public opinion. Decorum, alas, isn’t his strong suit.

But none of this is new, at least to anyone who grew up with him; he’s been the same “win at any and all costs” kind of guy since short-pants days, I’m told. When even your closest friends say privately that you’re a prick — well, everybody can’t be wrong.

Keep reading, I’m going somewhere serious with this.

So, when a number of clergy called for McGinty to recuse himself in the Tamir case, some folks (from within and without the black community) once again labeled him a racist. In addition to being grossly unfair, using such labels when they are not applicable nor accurate unnecessarily clouds the issue and makes it more difficult to achieve the goal of a just outcome.

Which, in the name of justice, is to get McGinty to turn the case over to a special prosecutor.

But — now here’s the important part — since McGinty knows in his heart of hearts that he isn’t a racist, he’s going to use the fact that he’s been unfairly labeled as such to dig his heels in even deeper. And, given his personality, he loves nothing better than a good fight, no matter the damage to the body politic and Cleveland’s reputation.

Making the argument that he should hand the Tamir case over to someone else has to be based on the fact that he has mishandled it by making scurrilous remarks, leaking reports and bringing in “experts” with dubious reputations — in other words, stick to the facts and quit calling him names that really aren’t true.

Everything he’s done in this case points in the direction that he doesn’t believe an indictment should be handed down, so how can he expect the public to believe he’s making a sincere effort to win an indictment? But, just for the sake of argument, let’s suppose a true bill was returned by the grand jury.

How can McGinty then prosecute this case in front of a trial jury with a clear conscience since he’s all but flat-out stated he believes no crime was committed? With his own tongue he’s painted himself into a corner, played himself out-of-pocket — but of course he’s too stubborn to ever admit it. And besides, taking an obtuse position and sticking to it simply enhances his reputation as a prick.

Nonetheless, given the zeitgeist in America as it relates to matters involving suspected overreaction by police officers, to assure that this case doesn’t end up being a continuous matter of contention, speculation and controversy, the county prosecutor should step down in favor of a special prosecutor — if for no other reason than to preserve the appearance of justice and fair play.

If Tim McGinty loves the law as much as he wants the world to believe, this would be an easy call for him to make.

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From Cool Cleveland correspondent Mansfield B. Frazier mansfieldfATgmail.com. Frazier’s From Behind The Wall: Commentary on Crime, Punishment, Race and the Underclass by a Prison Inmate is available again in hardback. Snag your copy and have it signed by the author by visiting http://NeighborhoodSolutionsInc.com.

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