Will sex affair, lying bring down Kwame Kilpatrick?
The Detroit News asked Michigan legal experts whether prosecutors should consider filing perjury charges against Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and Chief of Staff Christine Beatty based on text messages on city-issued pagers that conflict with their testimony in August at a whistleblower trial. The city settled the lawsuit and another one for $9 million:

Kilpatrick should resign
Larry Dubin, University of Detroit Mercy law professor and former chairman of Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission: We learn that Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick may have violated the oaths he swore as a lawyer, a mayor and a witness. His assertion of past personal problems is in no way a defense to his misdeeds.

The Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission should prosecute him for professional misconduct, which could lead to a suspension of his law license or even its revocation.

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Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy should conduct a full and complete investigation and bring criminal charges against the mayor if the evidence supports that conclusion. Further investigation could possibly reveal other criminal violations such as subornation of perjury or obstructing police officers in the discharge of official duties.

At this time, the honorable action for the mayor to take would be to resign from office and to hire a competent criminal defense lawyer.

The disclosure of the mayor's conduct provides an important lesson for voters: A candidate's personality is often an overrated quality that can distract voters from more important qualifications.

Oaths aren't taken seriously
Bernard Dobranski, dean of the Ave Maria Law School in Ann Arbor: State Attorney General Mike Cox and Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy need to seriously look into perjury charges. Other information may arise, and they may not want to go ahead and file charges. But it seems unmistakably clear that the testimony offered at trial is in conflict with what is said in the text messages.

When we discover prominent people lying under oath, it undermines the legal system if nothing is done about it. There was no question a decade ago that the president of the United States committed perjury and was impeached, but was not evicted from office. Truth has become a relative thing, and it can't be that way. We are a long time from Thomas More, who in the 16th century was willing to give up his head rather than falsely swear.

Case may affect crimefighting
Peter Henning, professor of law at Wayne State University in Detroit: Prosecutors have to weigh competing concerns: First, can they obtain a conviction of a charismatic mayor for statements about an issue that many in the public perceive as one about which anyone would lie? Second, if they don't pursue charges, does that send a message that prominent officials are subject to a different standard and will not be held accountable?

Prosecutors in major cities around the country have trouble obtaining convictions because witnesses will not come forward or change their stories due to pressure or threats. If the mayor is perceived as being able to lie when he's called as a witness without any penalty, then what message is sent to those in Detroit who may be asked to take risks to help the police by providing truthful information?

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy and state Attorney General Mike Cox will have to decide whether giving a pass to the mayor makes real justice that much harder to achieve down the road.

Did testimony affect result?
Richard Thompson, president and chief counsel of the Thomas More Law Center (a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor defending religious freedom) and former Oakland County prosecuting attorney: It would be prudent for law enforcement officials to conduct a vigorous investigation or send the matter to a grand jury because the issue affects the integrity of our justice system. You have an issue of confidence in government and our officials that needs to be settled.

One of the issues that would be involved: Did the suspected false testimony concern a material issue in the case -- that is, could a shift in testimony have affected the outcome of the case? And then was it false?

Once a decision is made either to prosecute or not to prosecute, officials should explain the reasoning so there is some public confidence that no one is getting away with perjury.

Proving perjury is difficult
Patrick Corbett, professor of criminal law and procedure at the Thomas Cooley Law School in Lansing and former assistant U.S. attorney : While they may appear on the surface to be simple cases, perjury cases are often difficult for the prosecutor to prove beyond a reasonable doubt.

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Man, this guy is a joke. He obviously doesn't take his job seriously. He has affairs every other month with different women. And he's out partying all the time. Detroit's just going downhill fast. I think we are witnessing the most rapid deterioration of any large city in modern history. With rising global competition in the auto industry, I think Detroit's glory days are long gone, and won't ever come back, and moronic politicians like Kwame serve only as a statement of the obvious.

The behavior of this so called elected official is despicable. If this is the standard that the citizens of Detroit expect of their civil servants, it is no wonder that their city is rapidly becoming the first urban ruin of North America.

Once a pimp, always a pimp. He may not be the best mayor, but he sure knows how to get down!