# Just fuck you, Tom Delay **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 24, 2010, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-fuck-you-tom-delay/561824 "2010-11-24T23:18:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-fuck-you-tom-delay/561824/81 "2011-01-12T02:01:20Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Wouldn’t you say that he’s less of a flight risk or repeat offender than some of your examples? That’s generally the criteria for allowing someone to be out of the klinkenjammer. Frequently, they’re allowed time to put their affairs in order before reporting to prison, but it’s extremely rare to allow white-collar criminals to remain out on bail during the entire appeal process. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-fuck-you-tom-delay/561824/82 "2011-01-12T02:03:36Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Wouldn’t you say that he’s less of a flight risk or repeat offender than some of your examples? What makes him less of a flight risk than anybody else, his integrity as a public servant? And before a trial, the accused has the presumption of innocence. Delay has been convicted; does he get to walk around free on the presumption that his appeal will be successful? (That’s rather snarkily phrased, I suppose, but it’s a serious question for any legal-eagle Dopers. How common is it for people who have been convicted of a crime to be free while their appeals are pending?) ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-fuck-you-tom-delay/561824/83 "2011-01-12T02:14:27Z")
Maybe he’s hoping to be asked back for another round of “Dancing With the Stars”. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-fuck-you-tom-delay/561824/84 "2011-01-12T02:18:49Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Maybe he’s hoping to be asked back for another round of “Dancing With the Stars”. I’ve seen that show. He should get LIFE just for that. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-fuck-you-tom-delay/561824/85 "2011-01-12T02:19:48Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > What makes him less of a flight risk than anybody else, his integrity as a public servant? > > And before a trial, the accused has the presumption of innocence. Delay has been convicted; does he get to walk around free on the presumption that his appeal will be successful? > > (That’s rather snarkily phrased, I suppose, but it’s a serious question for any legal-eagle Dopers. How common is it for people who have been convicted of a crime to be free while their appeals are pending?) I don’t agree with it, either. Just trying to see it from the court’s viewpoint. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-fuck-you-tom-delay/561824/86 "2011-01-12T22:14:02Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Federal crime. > Convicted. > Sentenced. > And he gets to remain free while he appeals. > > What kind of shit is that? For some reason, I don’t think there are a lot of federally convicted weed dealers or mail frauders or hell, other money-launderers, who are free while they appeal their cases. 😕 I thought he was indicted by a Texas DA, and tried and convicted in a Texas court under Texas law. Federal crime? ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-fuck-you-tom-delay/561824/87 "2011-01-12T22:27:09Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > I’ve seen that show. He should get LIFE just for that. 😃 Maybe his cellmate will tell him to “shake, shake, shake…shake, shake, shake…shake your booty!!” ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-fuck-you-tom-delay/561824/88 "2011-01-12T23:36:35Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > What makes him less of a flight risk than anybody else, his integrity as a public servant? > > And before a trial, the accused has the presumption of innocence. Delay has been convicted; does he get to walk around free on the presumption that his appeal will be successful? > > (That’s rather snarkily phrased, I suppose, but it’s a serious question for any legal-eagle Dopers. How common is it for people who have been convicted of a crime to be free while their appeals are pending?) In the circumstances DeLay finds himself in, it’s not too uncommon. If DeLay was sentenced to 10 years or more or if it were a “3G” assaultive offense he would not be eligible for an appeal bond, but since that’s not the case he is eligible. He also has a few factors weighing in his favor: he’s 63 years old and has no prior record, he was convicted of a non-violent crime with no direct victims (unlike, say, Madoff), he has significant ties to the community, and his prison sentence is reletively short, all of which add up to him not being a flight risk. 3 years in prison on a nonviolent offense is close to “standing on your head” time. If he has to serve his prison sentence he will be eligible for (and will probably get) parole in a matter of a few months. That’s not a special favor to him, a dope dealer doing 3 years for possession with intent to distribute would be eligible in the exact same amount of time. DeLay would be a fool to abandon his family and everything he owns and go on the run to avoid a few months of unpleasantness in a safekeeping unit. It probably doesn’t hurt that the all-Republican Texas Court of Criminal Appeals is expected to be much more friendly to DeLay’s interpretation of the law than was the trial court or the Travis County DA, and would almost certainly issue an appeal bond themselves if the issue came before them. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-fuck-you-tom-delay/561824/89 "2011-01-13T00:15:17Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > 😕 > > I thought he was indicted by a Texas DA, and tried and convicted in a Texas court under Texas law. You are correct. DeLay was prosecuted in state district court by the Travis County District Attorney for violations of Texas law ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-fuck-you-tom-delay/561824/90 "2011-01-13T00:23:52Z")
Hmmmm… Texas has a criminal penalty less than death? Color me impressed. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-fuck-you-tom-delay/561824/91 "2011-01-13T16:53:32Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Hmmmm… Texas has a criminal penalty less than death? Color me impressed. Sure they do! Sometimes Walker Texas Ranger only punches you 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-fuck-you-tom-delay/561824/92 "2011-01-13T16:56:14Z")
Federal Criminal. Texas Criminal. Regardless, I’m pretty sure if I was convicted of anything at any level I’d be sitting in stir, wearing a number and talking to my lawyer through bullet proof glass, not lounging beside the pool waiting for my case to be dropped as soon as the check clears. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-fuck-you-tom-delay/561824/93 "2011-01-13T17:46:50Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > Sure they do! Sometimes Walker Texas Ranger only punches you 😃 I thought that was the method of execution. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-fuck-you-tom-delay/561824/94 "2011-01-13T18:00:16Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > Sure they do! Sometimes Walker Texas Ranger only punches you 😃 That’s worse than death. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-fuck-you-tom-delay/561824/95 "2011-01-13T18:27:06Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I thought that was the method of execution. No, he just forms the thought of punching you in his mind, and you drop dead from fear. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-fuck-you-tom-delay/561824/96 "2011-01-13T19:46:03Z")
Tom DeLay served all the time he is going to serve after he got fingerprinted. Forget it, Jake. It’s Texas. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_Stimulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Digital\_Stimulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_Stimulus)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2011, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-fuck-you-tom-delay/561824/97 "2011-01-15T22:04:45Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Tom DeLay served all the time he is going to serve after he got fingerprinted. Forget it, Jake. It’s Texas. Excerpt from the [salon.com](http://salon.com) article, [The end of Tom DeLay](http://www.salon.com/news/politics/tom_delay/index.html?story=/politics/war_room/2011/01/15/tom_delay_conviction_dubose): > [@](#): > > **Do you think he will ever spend a day in jail?** > > No. Simply because the Court of Criminal Appeals is an elected court, it’s all Republican, it’s highly political. It’s known as a prosecutors’ court, but in this case I would bet that they’re going to rule for the defendant. The Third Court of Appeals, where the appeal will start, is also a Republican court. > > **What are the issues in the appeal?** > > These courts are going to have to find a creative way of setting Tom DeLay free… ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-fuck-you-tom-delay/561824/98 "2013-09-19T15:51:24Z")
[Per the WaPost:](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/09/19/tom-delay-conviction-overturned-by-texas-court/) > [@](#): > > **Tom DeLay conviction overturned by Texas court** > A Texas appellate court has overturned the conviction of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) for allegedly scheming to influence Texas state elections with corporate money, his attorney told several news organizations early Thursday. > > A three-judge panel voted 2-1 to overturn the conviction, calling the evidence “legally insufficient,” according to the majority ruling. The decision formally acquits DeLay of all charges, but could still be appealed by the government. > > … > > Prosecutors said that the money helped the GOP win control of the Texas House and that the majority then pushed through a DeLay-organized congressional redistricting plan that sent more Republicans to Congress. Those maps have since been challenged by the Justice Department for unfairly drawing minority communities out of certain districts. Repugnant, anti-democracy comicbook villain walks free. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-fuck-you-tom-delay/561824/99 "2013-09-19T16:08:37Z")
[I just pitted this latest bullshit.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=702704) ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-fuck-you-tom-delay/561824/100 "2013-09-19T16:26:52Z")
First Zimmerman, now Delay. What are the courts coming to, with all this pesky nonsense about “evidence”? Regards, Shodan [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-fuck-you-tom-delay/561824.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-fuck-you-tom-delay/561824.md?page=6)