Comments on: Why Prosecution? Be Realistic.

By: Deterrent? Not Actually

Deterrent? Not Actually — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 02:18:03 +0000

[...] In the end, the equation always seems to include two mutually exclusive concepts: more freedom or more safety? [...]

By: Why prosecution? Final word. « Really? Law?

Why prosecution? Final word. « Really? Law? — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 11:42:16 +0000

[...] the other hand, if the choice is between freedom and safety, which is how Mark Bennett interprets and reduces the criminal justice system, I do choose safety. I do. If the choice is between freedom of an individual who chose to commit a [...]

By: Patrick Metze

Patrick Metze — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 13:38:29 +0000

With much interest I followed this string. As I taught Charlie and Nick, I am probably not the most fair arbiter of these things, BUT, “J”ustice has nothing to do with any of this pie in the sky crap. If it were about “J”ustice then someone with a big “G” in front of “od” would make these decisions. As that’s not going to happen, here’s the role of the defense lawyer: (1) to take care of his/her family and his/her’s own mental (and physical) health, (2) if they are believers, to maintain their soul so as to have some reward at the end of all this, (3) to protect the citizen client from the abuses of the system that all too often affect them because of their class, race, gender, addictions, or other definable characteristic apart from the norm, and (4) to resist idealistic politicians that make their careers off the backs of our clients. THAT’S JUSTICE for me and mine. Anyone that thinks “Justice” has anything to do with punishing anyone, is just a frustrated, angry, passively aggressive, unhappy, unenlightened turd. And yes, I mean you. I just hope anyone that thinks this way finds themselves cuffed and stuffed for some of the non-sense I see that passes for law enforcement. Then you’ll understand the true meaning of “Justice.” As Goldstein puts it justice is for “just” “us,” and I make no bones about the “us” is not me or my kind. And that’s good enough for me.

By: Donald Klein

Donald Klein — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 00:59:30 +0000

I am not a Attorney though I have been around judges, lawyers, prosectors and cops. I am not a authority on any of these. If we had a system that worked and was not broken then the laws would be equal for all peoples and not a sham that they are now. It is my observation that the job of a prosector is to convict and not uphold the laws or rights of anyone. The job of a Judge is to be the impartial referee(Never happens). The job of a good attorney is to defend their client and see to that the laws and statutes are upheld and not used as a tool for a criminal organization looking for money, power or protection. I myself have witnessed prosectors who are nothing more than the worst kind of criminal working with those in the court system to deprive and attack certain individuals in their communities and I have met with attorneys who refuse to get involved for reasons of their own or who after a trip to the judges chamber come out slack jawed and crest fallen throwing their client to the wolves. This is not justice nor even simple injustice. It is a criminal organiszation utilizing terroristic methods and we all know it is here in our very own backyards.
All one has to do is decide which side they want to be on.

By: Jenna McWilliams

Jenna McWilliams — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 14:57:07 +0000

Yes, I AM her thoughtful, careful twin.

By: Amy Ponomarev

Amy Ponomarev — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 01:00:19 +0000

This is what I wrote to Laura:

I am so sorry that you were the victim of a crime. I have been the victim of a terribly violent felony crime, which has also marked me for life. My best friend was also murdered.

The problem with your logic here is that vengeance has nothing to do with justice. The worst atrocities in the history of the world have been perpetrated by people who believed they were victims. Be careful that you don’t confuse your desire to be empowered after surviving (you were victimized my darling, but you are not a victim, you are a survivor, which is a thing of beauty), with just a desire for power.

Much love and caution to you,

By: Amy Ponomarev

Amy Ponomarev — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 00:53:57 +0000

I have also been the victim of a particularly terrible felony crime, and one of my best friends was murdered. I think I would be very unsuitable as a prosecutor because of this. Justice should never be about the victims. In my opinion, this is one of the reasons why justice is blind.

By: David Redfearn

David Redfearn — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 22:53:09 +0000

If the young law student wants to seek ‘justice’ in the courtroom, it’s located in a box next to ‘truth’ at the bottom of a bottomless pit. A conviction, even of the guilty in fact, is not equal to justice. The late William Kunstler gave a speech where he said the great myth of our society is that everything that’s done through the established system is legal, and the word ‘legal’ has a powerful psychological effect on us. It makes people believe that there is an order to life and an order to a system. And that a person that goes through this order and is convicted has gotten all that is due him. And therefore society can turn its conscious off. The thing about a trial is that it has an aura of legitimacy to it. How many men have been sent to die through this ordered system? Sacco and Vanzetti – legal. The Haymarket defendants – legal. The hundreds of rape trials throughout the South where black men were condemned to death – all legal. Jesus – legal. Socrates – legal. Tyrannies last longer when punishment of individuals is ordered through some semblance of legality.

By: 234 Years | Fresno Criminal Defense

234 Years | Fresno Criminal Defense — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 21:12:03 +0000

[...] have hammered away at the rebellious spirit of the Constitution meant to limit power — criminal defense lawyer Mark Bennett responds to Laura: [T]he system is out of balance. Convicting the accused is too easy (else [...]

By: Charlie Pelowski

Charlie Pelowski — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 19:57:31 +0000

Honestly, with two more years of tax and commercial law and family law and estate planning and… (whatever the hell else they make law students on the east coast study), there’s a good chance Laura may never go into criminal law. She may get a job offer at a big firm for a six figure salary. She may decide that she likes contracts better than criminals. She might find the love of her life and run away to Pocono to sell seashells by the seashore.

The discussion (I don’t think) was never about her individually. But a prosecutor with an ax to grind is a scary thing. Enough of them are out for blood already. The worry is that somebody in her situation would take her past out on others. And that’s not fair no matter which way you slice it.