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Are your judges fair? Is your justice system working? How do you know?

If you have accessed the system, either by exigency or by mandate, you realize that these are fair questions. Part of the problem is the lack of oversight. No one is keeping an eye on the system, ensuring fairness and impartiality.

Oh, you believe, as the system has told you that the oversight comes from the system itself. You believed that? Will you put the judges in charge of reviewing themselves? Undoubtedly this is the first time you've considered it like this and not in accordance with the official stance of checks and balances by arrangement.

The first sign that something is not working is in this fact: 95 98% of all complaints on judges, made to a review committee mandated by congress as an attempt at reforming an out-of-control system are dismissed out of hand. Guess who designed the system to comply with congress' mandate that the justice system comply with standards of fairness and impartiality? Guess who manages and controls the system that reviews complaints against the managers of the system? Getting the picture yet?

Were we to just sit for a moment and design a fair and impartial system just for reviewing complaints against judges, say. We would first review industrial models, set reasonable and distinct guidelines and then empanel people prepared and empowered to manage the complaints.

In accordance with industrial modeling, the panel would probably look similar to a board governing management of a non profit corporation or a health care agency or facility. It would comprise of members of the profession, a director and members of the community at large including consumers. They would have a set of bylaws describing their mission and vision, parameters for the reviews they would accept and how to manage resolution. They would have a way to handle egregious complaints and opportunity to pass on the worst of them.

All fifty states were required to have a complaint committee. All fifty do. Nearly all of these are comprised solely of lawyers or judges sitting or ex. In Colorado, they hear only complaints about judges that involve "permanent neurological deficit". An incredibly narrow review guideline.

Is this in keeping with standard industrial models? If you ever run across a company with such narrowed guidelines and focused board of directors, you will have found either a company with limited means or a company in threat of federal indictment. However, this is what is allowed for our justice system. This is actually a compromise between the justice system who wanted even a more narrow procedure and congress who wanted to oversee an out of control justice system.

How does this sound to you? Write to your congressman, get involved. The longer it stays like this, the more acceptable it will be. Runaway judges. Runaway lawyers. If it looks like you are going to Court, run away.

Learn more about this author, Ben Frayser.
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