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From: bill@sigma.UUCP (William Swan)
Newsgroups: net.legal
Subject: Re: Lie det.. (The REAL way the courts work)
Message-ID: <620@sigma.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 18-Feb-86 11:50:22 EST
Article-I.D.: sigma.620
Posted: Tue Feb 18 11:50:22 1986
Date-Received: Thu, 20-Feb-86 08:06:28 EST
References: <2613@sdcrdcf.UUCP> <872@felix.UUCP> <266@imagen.UUCP>
Reply-To: bill@sigma.UUCP (William Swan)
Lines: 34


In article <266@imagen.UUCP> jay@imagen.UUCP (Jay Jaeckel) writes:
>>[...]
>I always thought courts were specifically intended to be slanted, in some
>sense, in favor of the defendent:  Due to the burden on the _plaintiff_ to
>prove the defendent's guilt _beyond_a_shadow_of_a_doubt_, etc., etc.
>[...]

Unfortunately, Jay, this isn't how the courts work. This is a piece of fiction
(propaganda) we were all fed growing up. The courts _sometimes_ make rulings
that appear to reinforce this lie.

The trial system as practiced in these here United States is nothing more
than a gladiatorial combat system that uses persuasion in place of swords.
The plaintiff/prosecutor does _not_ have to prove the defendant guilty beyond
a shadow, etc, he merely has to _persuade_ the jury that the defendent is
guilty.

The more persuasive the lawyer is, the more successful he is, and the more
money he gets for his services. The range of fees that you find lawyers
asking is not what you would expect from workers in a service industry 
(which is what they purport to be), but rather more like that of artists,
with the extremely highly-paid prima-donnas earning millions, down to the
(relatively) poor souls that only make $100K or so.

If you are wealthy enough, you can afford a lawyer that is good enough
to get you off. If you aren't, you get to use a "public defender", which
is usually an attorney either not good enough to make it on his own, or
who is still a novice. 

---
"Ask not what your country can do for you,
 ask what your country can do to you!"

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