“When there are too many policemen, there can be no liberty.
When there are too many soldiers, there can be no peace.
Where there are too many lawyers, there can be no justice.”
– Lin Yutang Chinese Writer and Inventor
“Today the skill and gamesmanship of lawyers, ‘not the truth,’ often determine the outcome of a case. All the tools are there to obscure and confound. The system’s process of discovery and the exclusionary rule often work to keep vital information off-limits to jurors and make cases so convoluted and complex that only lawyers and judges understand them.” – Justice John F. Molloy, Chief Justice to Court of Appeals for the State of Arizona.
The legal system has been wounded by lawyers who themselves no longer respect the rule of law and by judges who allow this misconduct because a lawyer is considered “an officer of the court”, and as the court can do no wrong, neither can its representative.
Sadly, justice in America has become a joke and the subject of late night humor. To be a member of the American Bar Association is to allow corruption to endure from within. Lawyers who advocate for their clients more often than not will lie, fabricate false facts, advance arguments with no merit, submit case authority that does not represent the point they are attempting to make, and if they have no defense, they will attempt to confuse the real issues.
Although there are rules against such conduct and there are numerous law journal articles condemning them, in reality the rules are not enforced, and the corruption only extends as lawyers begin to understand how the system works in their favor.
Judge Edith Jones of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has said the following of attorneys:
“An increasingly visible and vocal number apparently believe that the strategic use of anger and incivility will achieve their aims. Others seem uninhibited about making misstatements to the court or their opponents or destroying or falsifying evidence. … When lawyers cannot be trusted to observe the fair processes essential to maintaining the rule of law, how can we expect the public to respect the process?”
In response to Judge Jones’ question, we can’t and we don’t!
Contrary to its Hollywood image, America’s legal system is like a banana republic; it has become a sink-well of secret proceedings, the jailing of the innocent and political misconduct. It is sullied with documented corruption, fake trials and court fraud. The system is gamed to convict whistle blowers and secure the corruption and advancement of our own failed political system.
Some 2.2 million inmates are currently in American prisons, many of whom (possibly as much as 20 percent) were innocent of any crime, as evidenced by recent exonerations of death row inmates. Yet they were convicted by either an overzealous prosecutor who concealed evidence of innocence to win or by lack of adequate legal representation.
The cost estimates for a case to go to trial are $20,000 a day—not including pretrial motions and discovery—making the average case close to $250,000.
A civil case today is more often than not won by the amount of money the parties are willing to invest. When insurance is involved—such as media defamation—a lawsuit can often cost $1,000,000 through trial and another $75,000 for an appeal to one of the circuit courts, and if the Supreme Court entertains certiorari, it’s another $1,000,000. How many individuals can carry such an extreme cost? Not many. And for this reason, the media considers itself invincible, and reporters are indifferent to the truth. They would rather promote headline grabbing falsehoods, and when caught and challenged, the deep pockets of their insurance companies pay for their defense.
Where criminal trials are concerned, the net effect has been to increase our need for lawyers, create more work for them, clog the courts and ensure that most cases never go to trial and are instead plea-bargained and compromised. All the while the clock is ticking, and the monster is being fed and getting fat.
The sullying of American law has resulted in a fountain of money for law professionals while the common people—who are increasingly affected by lawyer-driven changes and an expensive, self-serving bureaucracy—are left confused and ill-served. Today, it is estimated that 70 percent of low- to middle-income citizens can no longer afford the cost of justice in America.
In short, in the words of Bob Enyart: “It is not a justice system. It is just a system.”
Your article has been proven to be truthful over and over again but like many “middle-class” busy people, I hadn’t given the subject much thought. Until one of my best friend’s sons (who had been going to school and working for years and was finally graduating from U of U, planning his second marriage to a wonderful woman and moving to Denver) had his home invaded and was arrested in front of his ten-year old son. No one in either of our families had ever been in a position to need bail and to find an attorney or to understand how the system worked. Then we ran right in to overzealous prosecutors who were not interested in the truth but only wanted this person caught up in the system in the worst light possible. They were unethical and the system runs on money, not the truth. Cases are hugely slanted in the favor of the prosecutors and you are certainly NOT innocent until proven guilty. Money talks and without it, you cannot defend yourself properly. He had to take a plea and go to jail for 90 days and then stay on an ankle monitor (that we had to pay for) for another 90 days. Everything in jail costs money–you want a towel? buy one, you want a pillow, buy one. You want to eat decent food–don’t expect it and buy what you can through the conveniently set up jail store. You need to go to a hearing, pay for transportation. You want to know the date you will be released? They won’t tell you. When you’ve “served your time,” the fun really starts. You cannot find a place to live because landlords are allowed to discriminate and not rent to “ex-cons” You can’t get a job because everyone, of course, thinks you’re a bad risk. You can’t vote anymore. Too many good people who have been caught up in overzealous policing and then overzealous and unethical prosecutors are like a deer in the headlights. They helped their son financially all the way (though very hard on two retired professionals) but our “justice” system works on money so the unfortunate low-income families have no chance. Every step of the way through the system is about money and thus, only the affluent or wealthy can afford to actually go to trial with an expensive attorney, where they have a good chance to be found not guilty. The system needs a complete overhaul but there are too many people making too much money off of jails and prisons and lobbying the legislatures to keep the status quo. Not much empathy for someone who has been in jail since most people assume he must have done something to deserve it…just hope that you or your loved ones don’t get caught in this system unless, of course, you are very wealthy.