INDEPENDENT NEWS

Justice Serves All? - Perhaps, But Definitely ONE

Published: Sun 10 Jun 2007 09:39 PM
Justice Serves All? - Perhaps, None, But Definitely ONE
By Patricia L Johnson
For lack of a better word it will suffice to say the justice system in the U.S. totally sucks. It is biased, prejudiced and unfair.
It is safe to assume if two people commit murder and one is rich and one is poor, the wealthy defendant will receive a much lighter sentence than the individual that does not have the money to purchase adequate representation.
Public defenders are provided for those that cannot afford a lawyer, but the fact is most public defenders have so many cases they really don't have time to give you their best effort.
In all too many cases the end result will be a negotiated plea agreement because the courts are overrun with cases and judges don't have time to listen to everyone's case, so an agreement between the two opposing attorneys is encouraged and the judge simply reviews and signs the agreed order.
If you're lucky or, unlucky enough, to actually stand before a judge and jury of your peers, remember jurors are simply average people and when you have a group of 12 people in any situation there is going to be one or two that are in control and will probably use their influence to sway the other jurors into their line of thinking.
As flawed as our system is, it worked for hundreds of years until we learned the power of the pen, or in this day and age, the power of a word processor.
The Whitehouse Press Release on June 8, 2007 indicated President Bush has added 9 people to his administration as follows:
President George W. Bush today announced that he has named nine individuals to serve in his Administration:
• The President has named J. Michael Farren to be Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Counsel to the President...
• The President has named William Burck to be Deputy Assistant to the President and Special Counsel to the President...
• The President has named Emmet Flood to be Deputy Assistant to the President and Special Counsel to the President...
• The President has named Scott Coffina to be Associate Counsel to the President...
• The President has named Amy F. Dunathan to be Associate Counsel to the President...
• The President has named Francis Q. Hoang to be Associate Counsel to the President...
• The President has named Al Lambert to be Associate Counsel to the President...
• The President has named Michael Purpura to be Associate Counsel to the President...
• The President has named Kate Todd to be Associate Counsel to the President...
Why does President Bush need NINE new counsels?
Perhaps the answer is loopholes. With enough legal loopholes our entire justice system can be overturned in no time at all.
An example of justice being overturned by a legal loophole is the pending motion before the United States District Court for the District of Columbia - United States of America v. I. Lewis Libby - also known as "Scooter Libby," Defendant. CR. No. 05-394 (RBW)
When you can't win a case using the law as a defense what do you do? You challenge the law!
Scooter Libby lost his case and has been sentenced to 30 months in jail for his wrongdoings.
Twelve professors, in an attempt to delay his sentence, have filed a Motion questioning the constitutionality of the appointment of Patrick Fitzgerald.
VIKRAM AMAR, RANDY E. BARNETT, ROBERT H. BORK, ALAN M. DERSHOWITZ, VIET D. DINH, DOUGLAS W. KMIEC, GARY S. LAWSON, EARL M. MALTZ, THOMAS W. MERRILL, ROBERT F. NAGEL, RICHARD D. PARKER, AND ROBERT J. PUSHAW
ARGUMENT
THERE IS A SUBSTANTIAL, CLOSE QUESTION ABOUT THE CONSTITUTIONALITY OF THE APPOINTMENT OF A FEDERAL PROSECUTOR WHO WAS NOT APPOINTED TO THE RELEVANT POSITION BY THE PRESIDENT AND TAKES NO ORDERS FROM A DEPARTMENTAL SUPERIOR, EVEN IF THAT PROSECUTOR IS REMOVABLE AT WILL
Patrick J. Fitzgerald has been duly appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate, to serve as United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. As this Court has recognized, however, that appointment was to an inferior office within the meaning of the Appointments Clause, and "he cannot be given duties that would elevate him to a 'principal officer'" without a separate presidential appointment and Senate confirmation. 429 F. Supp. 2d at 43-44 n.15; see U.S. Const. Art. II, § 2, cl. 2.
U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton has scheduled a hearing for Thursday, June 14, 2007, on this matter.
With nine additional attorneys on the payroll (remember the American taxpayer is paying for these services) it will be interesting to see how many more ways the laws of our country can be challenged before this administration leaves office in January of 2009.
While you're thinking about the Scooter Libby case, take into consideration the fact the media continually reports that Scooter Libby was Vice-President Cheney's Chief of Staff but seldom acknowledges, as indicated in the Grand Jury indictment, that Libby was also employed as "ASSISTANT to the PRESIDENT of the UNITED STATES".
ENDS

Next in Comment

US Lessons For New Zealand’s Health System: Profiteering, Hospital Adverse Events And Patient Outcomes
By: Ian Powell
Israel’s Argument At The Hague: We Are Incapable Of Genocide
By: Binoy Kampmark
View as: DESKTOP | MOBILE © Scoop Media