How To Crash the US Justice System: Demand a Trial

Hugh Pickens writes "The U.S. Bill of Rights guarantees the accused basic safeguards, including a fair and speedy jury trial, but in this era of mass incarceration — when our nation's prison population has quintupled in a few decades — these rights are, for the overwhelming majority of people hauled into courtrooms across America, theoretical. More than 90 percent of criminal cases are never tried before a jury, in part because the Supreme Court ruled in 1978 that threatening someone with life imprisonment for a minor crime in an effort to induce him to forfeit a jury trial did not violate his Sixth Amendment right to trial. 'The truth is that government officials have deliberately engineered the system to assure that the jury trial system established by the Constitution is seldom used,' says Timothy Lynch, director of the criminal justice project at the libertarian Cato Institute. Now Susan Burton, head of 'A New Way of Life' (PDF), is helping to start a movement to demand restoration of Americans' basic civil and human rights by asking people who have been charged with crimes to reject plea bargains, and press for trial. 'Can we crash the system just by exercising our rights?' Burton says if everyone charged with crimes suddenly exercised his constitutional rights, there would not be enough judges, lawyers or prison cells to deal with the ensuing tsunami of litigation."

Comments

Re:Your "tool" is broken

[Reverberant]

BULLSHIT The segregationist racist laws of the US South were passed by DEMOCRATS

Yes- conservative Democrats. Liberal = Democrat and Conservative = Republican is a recent turn of events, before the 1960's there were conservative and liberal Republicans, as well as conservative and liberal Democrats.

Re:Denial of Service attack

[jackbird]

There is nothing in the constitution that guarantees your right to bail

...Other than the eighth amendment.

Re:Last time I checked...

[TubeSteak]

My mother once tried to represent herself in court, over some business thing. She was berated by the judge

That's more shocking that you think, since the judge is supposed to assist a pro se (self representing) litigant.
But like most things in life, your mileage may vary.

/Your mother should have filed an ethics complaint with the state's judicial ethics board/commission

Re:Last time I checked...

[trevelyon]

I did the same thing many years back. If you really want to see how the legal system works challenge a speeding ticket in court. You think you have rights and the judge is impartial? Go to a trial and watch them break all the laws and trample those rights. I am totally serious even the most simple and basic things go out the window. The Judge and prosecutor are on the same team and you have little to no chance to even make a valid case. They will also threaten you with contempt of court and deny you the opportunity to video tape the proceedings (to show others what the system really is like). It was a great $200 real world lesson for me and I recommend it to everyone. That way you know the reality of the system you are living under not the illusion like most people have.

Re:Uh, no

[Lord Kano]

You, sir, have no idea of how that's applied. If you have a job, they say you can afford a lawyer. Even if all of your income is taken by rent/mortgage, utilities and food. If you have any income, you *can* afford a lawyer and are assumed to be refusing to pay for one.

You really must be indigent to get a free lawyer and those usually aren't that good.

LK

Re:Uh, no

[YesDinosaursDidExist]

Thus the part that reads, "If you cannot afford..."

Why was this modded up to 4 - "Interesting?" I would look up the requirements (i.e. lack of income requirement) for access to the public defender system in your state. In Wisconsin for example --- if you make >$260\week you are not allowed a public defender and have to provide your own council. Let's see -- $260\week -- assuming you never take any vacation -- thats less than $14K a year. .......basically -- you have to be EXTREMELY poor before you are given access to a public defender...and its worse in some states.

Also - I agree that coercing defendants to settle does happen -- in criminal and civil cases -- but the dockets of courts around the country are already filled -- so sure, we can "break" the system -- but unless you're willing to fight for another century to rebuild the entire judiciary -- its pointless. The reality is, trials are expensive, they suck, depending on the jurisdiction -- you may already be screwed (so settlement is your BEST option), and most people don't have the wherewithal or resources to carry a case through to final judgment.

I have no idea what the answer is -- as I see it, there is no fix or magic bullet...but, demonizing settlement of cases, or plea bargains -- is not the answer. And nor is forcing a trial on someone who will most likely be indebted for the rest of their lives paying legal and court fees -- there is no justice in that -- and in many cases -- it is a worse fate than would have come out of settling.