I have had little to no faith in the Justice system

[edhopper]

for a very long time.

Don't know if I ever did.

Don't know why I ever should.

[SoCalMusicLover]

1. It Is A Great System

If you are guilty of a crime, and can afford to hire a high priced attorney, you stand a better than 50/50 chance of getting off free and clear.

Just ask Casey Anthony, O.J. Simpson or Jodi Arias.

Of course, OJ would be living the life searching for killers on a golf course, if he hadn't been the bonehead that he is and committed another crime.

And Jodi Arias may be in prison, but let's face it, the chances she was going to not get any conviction was zero. She had changed her story too many times. I bet if she had been smarter from the start though, she probably stood the possibility of claiming some sort of self defense, a la Zimmerfuck.

Our system is a fantastic one, especially if you are a lawyer with no ethics. Heck, I bet Zimm's attorney will have his phones ringing off the hook for cases to try. Everyone loves a winner. Trayvon is not a winner, and he is dead.

[Demeter]

2. You would have to have faith in people; both the average and the expert

I wouldn't have any faith, either. Especially in the "experts".

Although the average person has been declining noticeably in the last 30 years, too.

Basically, we are screwed, Ed. At least, we aren't alone.

[Lindsay]

3. As somebody pointed out to me today,

it may be better to think of it as the legal system, rather than the justice system.

[edhopper]

4. good point.

[kestrel91316]

5. I do. I was sued in federal court along with 40 other people, all of whom

had the benefit of counsel as part of their employment except me (not a government or charitable org employee). As things slowly proceeded and people got dismissed from the case one by one over the course of a year or two, eventually there was just me as the sole remaining defendant. The judge requested an explanation of the events from me in writing, understood that the plaintiff was a nutjob and herself civilly and criminally liable (lol), and dismissed against me WITH PREJUDICE. And then he declared plaintiff a vexatious litigant. And I never once had to set foot in court or consult an attorney.

So I KNOW that the system works as intended at least occasionally. But I'm white and this is SoCal.

[edhopper]

6. Sure it works for some people

and as you said, especially if you are white and live someplace where they are not insane.

Your case was civil and was ruled on by a Judge, not criminal an decided by a jury.
So your personal story has little to do with inequitable, deeply flawed system we have.

And I can't help thinking about the innocent people Bush and Perry executed in Texas.

[kestrel91316]

7. ".....the innocent people Bush and Perry executed in Texas....."

Yeah. Don't get me started on that. Innocent, the mentally ill, and the mentally handicapped. Anybody who executes them needs a taste of their own medicine.