Opinion ID: 325594
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Mode of Prosecution

Text: 34 Woodcock argues that the manner in which he was prosecuted violated the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment. In essence, he complains that too many guns were brought to bear on him and his coconspirators. In particular, he objects to the extensive role played by agents of the Massachusetts Crime Commission, a special commission created by the legislature in 1962 'to investigate and study as a basis for legislative action the existence and extent of organized crime within the Commonwealth and corrupt practices in government at state and local levels. . . .' Resolves 1962, c. 146. 35 We need not tarry long on this question. Both the trial court and the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts found that the participation of the Commission neither offended any provisions of state law nor violated the federal constitution. Of course, in this habeas corpus action, only the latter question is of concern to this court, and we feel that no valid constitutional claim is presented. A state can, and indeed must, proceed against large and complex criminal schemes more forcefully than against small criminals. As long as there is a rational purpose behind the state's decision on the manner of prosecution, no constitutional infirmity exists. Cf. Johnson v. Louisiana, 406 U.S. 356, 363--65, 92 S.Ct. 1620, 32 L.Ed.2d 152 (1972). That such a rational purpose was present in this case is plain. Corruption in government strikes at the heart of the democratic process and is among the most invidious of all crimes. For the legislature of Massachusetts to conclude that special measures were necessary to attack it is eminently justifiable. Moreover, the complexity of the proceedings in the 'small loans cases' is witness to the extensive nature of the criminality, and therefore, the necessity of utilizing a considerable amount of resources to uproot it is quite understandable. 36