3 of 6

Write now Article Tools

When the legal system fails you, when your ideals and trust is undermined by the very system that is supposed to protect you, when you do not have to commit a crime to end up in the criminal justice roach-filled mosh pit, justice, and the very ideals promised and held high by our democracy (that very system being part of the problem!) are severly undermined and cheapened. "Mosh pit"? Yes, because when it comes to actually protecting, preserving and ensuring your own rights, you are indeed on your own. You have to have eyes behind your head, and that won't even help you. Honestly, if my experience resembles anything close to the norm, your best bet is to be as rude and willful and insistent and stubborn as the so-called public servants whose salary YOU pay! And if you're ever in the position to seek justice - most likely you've discovered that that isn't in a courtroom or anywhere near the legal system, where lady liberty can be every bit as deaf as she is supposed to be blind.

I am taking the bold step of predicting that what I am doing right now IS the best justice - and as such that your best bet is to know the Bill of Rights all on your own - or at least that prized Amendment One - Freedom of Speech. The following is my effort to lead by that example:

In the interest of attempting to best serve the most immediate need of anyone who finds himself pondering obtaining legal counsel, or who is in the unenviable position of facing a court appearance to answer for some charge, be it a traffic/moving violation, or something defined by the law as criminal - even misdemeanor - you're doing yourself a tremendous disservice and severely compromising your disposition and potential outcome if you expect to be treated fairly.

Read that again. I mean exactly what the words say. Do NOT expect to see in real life the manifestation of society's highest ideals and principals anywhere NEAR the legal system. What counts all the way through due process is the ease with which you and your case can be handled. If you ask questions, if you have a hearing loss or some other compromising condition that limits your ability to access any information or participate fully in the process, if you have any need that would "put out" anyone in the process whose services you haven't hired out, or who does not have a vested interest in your better welfare, you are treated as a liability - as somebody who is potentially a drain on the human resources of an already severely clogged system.

In short

• 1
• 2
• 3
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about What do you do when the legal system fails you?
We want to hear your view. Write now!