"JUDICIAL"

The legal system as we know it today is not what our fore fathers thought they were creating. One must keep in mind that the thinking was quite different during their time period. It is inconceivable to me that they could have expected, what has developed. Justice to them was a swift and sure way to teach the citizenry what was expected of them and it worked. Now we can not tell who or what is wrong because the lawyers have made everything so gray. I am not trying to convince anyone that all of this came about intentionally. For the most part the legal field feels that what has developed, must be right or it would not have happened. However I feel that they err, in not recognizing that there is not a check and balance system for the judiciary arm of our government and that, is where the damage may have been done.

The judiciary system is so inbred that they have lost sight of the common man and feel that they know more of what he should have and not have than he himself  does. Also since they are the ones who are educated, it is only natural that they know best. In one respect this of course sounds logical. But just consider for a minute, that if each pats each other on the back and does not critique their concepts for the betterment of mankind in general, then a lot of things will be forgotten and eventually by the natural process of self pres-ervation, they will automatically chose what is best for them, all the while, thinking that they are doing it for mankind. To add insult to injury we have continued to let them charge more for their services which in their eyes is a vote for their system. Our legal system has not only become ineffective of stopping crime but it has become one of our highest expenditures that we can not control. We must make them realize that they no longer have a free reign or an open check book to spend at their will. Some will point out that it is not their job to stop crime. Well I believe that the system developed by them, has certainly encouraged crime.

I don't believe that any of us would object to the cost if we could see where it is doing some good. However we are fast becoming prisoners within our own, so called, free society. In one respect, this of course sounds logical from the personal safety aspect. However locking our self into safe communities is expensive if one can afford it and those who can’t are more vulnerable. Would it not be more efficient and pleasant to remove the temptation for crime?

It is my belief that with the proper system and the proper training we can walk our streets with safety and without fear. No it will not take a lot of money and not an awful lot of time if we only change our thinking. Let's make each individual responsible for his or her actions and let our neighbors judge us. Some of you are saying we do that now. No dear friend we do not. The lawyers do there best to be sure that the jury has no prior knowledge of the defendant or his record. The old saying "By their actions Yee shall know them" can be applied here to the individual. However our current legal system does not allow that knowledge to reach the jury. Please note that it says actions. That is plural. The defense lawyer's attitude that the defendant must be tried on only this one incident is hog wash. If an individual is skirting the law a lot and using legal tactics to avoid prosecution, then I say the jury should know this and take it into account.

I can foresee a society that would not need locks on anything. I personally feel that it is an invasion of my rights that I must purchase locks to protect that which is mine. The current attitude that if I leave my car unlocked, I am contributing to the crime is absolutely asinine. Our courts now would make me liable for the damages the person might do with my vehicle or with whatever he or she picked up out of my vehicle. It is this attitude that has created the mess we are in.

Just stop and think for a minute about what I have done and what the criminal has done in the above example. My act of leaving my car unlocked could be the result of several things. Perhaps I am only showing faith in my fellow man. Perhaps I am forgetful. Perhaps I have lost my key and must not lock it so that I can use it again. In any case I have done nothing to harm or cheat my fellow man. Now the criminal on the other hand has with full intent and forethought decided to use my act against me for his own good. He knows full well that I will be the poorer for his actions and if properly educated he will realize that society as a whole is also poorer, due to his action. On top of that the current legal system puts more of the blame on me than on him. To put it in words of reality; he would be a fool not to steal it.

Again the system needs to be changed so that there is a common sense approach used in the judging of the criminal acts. Any lawyer as well as ourselves can get so involved in doing a good job for the client, that they lose sight of the damage done to society as a whole. The above case is an example and I'll bet dollars to donuts (which at today's prices is almost an even bet), that if the general public had a chance to vote they would vote that the criminal is in the wrong and not the citizen. There are hundreds yes even thousands of examples which proves that today's court is more concerned for the criminal than it is for the honest citizen. Their attitude is criminal rights, above all else.

There are perhaps many ways to revise the system. I feel that one which has a good chance of working, would be an elected judicial board (of lay citizens with no lawyers allowed) that would review cases and advise the judges as to whether the courts decision is acceptable to society. This board would act as a check and balance against the current inbred system that loses sight of the overall picture in their enthusiasm to see that no innocent person is ever convicted. However it is exactly that zeal which has led us to the current expensive, complicated and ineffective system and it still convicts some innocent ones. In fact the current system may well punish the innocent ones more easily because the true criminal has circumvented the law so many times that he knows how to use the law to his advantage. The innocent one knows nothing about the procedure and thereby gets trapped in it's workings.

Another principal that desperately needs revision is the ratio of cost of crime, between what the criminal pays and what society must pay to control it. Every criminal should be made to pay for the cost of his or her crime. The cost of course would be in relation to how well they work with the authorities. In other words those who co-operate and reduce the cost would have less to pay and those who use gimmicks etc to avoid punishment would increase their cost just as they have increased the cost to society to bring them to justice. This type of system would make the criminal once caught, more co-operative. As the system now stands they have nothing to lose and a lot to gain by fighting and resisting the system. Can you imagine what would happen if we used the same system in business. A business person would not be responsible for his or her debts but could reap all the gains. In fact we are approaching just such a system with our current bankruptcy policy. However that is the subject of another article.

The benefits of a revised system that is expedient, inexpensive and effective are well worth the effort necessary to procure same.

1- It will let the general public feel more pride in their country due to the fact that the common man found a fault and was able to fix that problem. This will also reduce  the tax bite to support said system.

2- It will strengthen our moral fiber as a nation and will automatically give us a better representation in our government. I read somewhere that freedom demands personal responsibility. We can not create personal responsibility under the current system for it tells us that we are not responsible for our acts.

3- When justice is swift and assured, then crime will not pay. When crime does not pay it will be less attractive and thereby reduced. When crime is reduced the need for policing is reduced and the costs of trials are reduced. It will be a tremendous cost saving.

THANKS FOR READING

NOW ACT

Just A. Pebble

 CLOSING THOUGHT:

"Love without discipline is damnation". A Hobyism

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