How Courts Avoid Doing Justice

[Donnachaidh]

http://www.truth-out.org/how-courts-avoid-doing-justice67792

It is apparent that in order to put more than 2.3 million people behind bars and keep them there, while simultaneously building a prison guard/police arm of the state that numbers in the millions, courts must make credible findings that an enormous number of American citizens are violent, dangerous, and worthy of extended imprisonment. Such a goal requires creativity in redefining what is “dangerous” to our society and why the incarceration of so many people is in the national interest.

It is too blatant and obvious for the courts to simply say that being poor or black is justification enough to imprison somebody. They have to put it into language that is palatable to Americans.

Thus, in order to find so many people guilty of the massive array of crimes established by the state, courts have had to construct an elaborate maze of rules and exceptions, authorizing and sustaining the convictions of so many people, and making sure that their criminal appeals go nowhere (except to profit those in the legal system fortunate enough to make a living by it). This maze is comprised of a series of rules that, on their own, appear reasonable, but when taken as a whole, demonstrate the total contempt courts have for the judicial process, and highlight the result-oriented nature of the process.

We all are familiar with how the law loves archaic Latin phrases that the typical
American knows nothing about: stare decisis (a rule is a rule); habeas corpus (bring us the body, dead or alive), ad infinitum (give us more money indefinitely) and res ipse loquitor (we can talk you blind), are obvious and well-known examples; but what is less known is how courts go about convicting the innocent in spite of laws forbidding it.

More at the link --

[fasttense]

1. I went to the link and this is what I got:

Truthout’s main web site, www.truth-out.org, has been knocked offline. These attacks are not new and are often timed to take down our site during our crucial fundraising drive. Meanwhile, other progressive sites are experiencing similar disruptions. Right now we’re assessing the damage and working to resume operations. We will keep you updated as we come to understand the severity of the attack and assess our options.

Oh, I think the RepubliCONS are afraid.