News: Jena 6

First brought to my attention by the Black Law Students Association, and then by national news outlets, is the plight of the so-called "Jena 6," a group of black high school students charged with crimes arising out of the alleged assault of a white teenager. This was, as protesters allege, a direct result of the racial tensions there, and many claim that the black students were discriminated against.

I'm not completely familiar with all the facts of the case. Like most people, I had never heard of the town of Jena, Louisiana. But if the likes of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are down there, you know there's blood in the water - and it's bad blood. I've learned a long time ago that things these two hucksters support are often things I don't support, but this particular case might be an exception.

The District Attorney, and indeed any prosecutor, as recent stories have made clear, has a phenomenal amount of discretion in deciding who to charge and what to charge them with. Unfortunately, that kind of power is ripe for abuse. It'll be interesting to see how this all plays out.