The system is fucked. Fuck the system.

[digitaldiscipline]

I don't know how many of you are at all familiar with the Peter Watts case (a handful of you, anyways, because I heard about it from you). This was brought to my attention as a result of that situation, deeply flawed and fucked up as it is (abbreviated backstory at the link below).

I learned something beyond, "Cops and customs officials are fucking assholes" (those of you who are, or were, cops - sorry, a lot of your brothers and sisters in arms are fucksocks on a power trip) - it's that, as I have long suspected, the very justice system is actively fucking over the people by denying them access to due process...

... not as those accused, but as jurors.

But you don't have to take my word for it.

Go. Read. Seethe.

http://maradydd.livejournal.com/502449.html

Comments

[smjayman.livejournal.com]

Side note: like 99% of all cops I know are really decent people and try to do the right thing. That last 1% is the problem, just like in any other profession. The only difference is that the 1% of cops have an effect on everybody, whereas the dicks you work with only annoy you.

[y2kdragon.livejournal.com]

If I ever get called up for Jury Duty (hasn't happened ever, except when I was out of state in college, and I was excused for being 5-hours away), I intend to bring reading material with me, printed out, on Jury Nullification. I might even bring a couple of copies to share with my fellow potential jurors.

[etcet.livejournal.com]

unfortunate truth is unfortunate. (sigh)

[drcuriosity]

My father was a cop for 38 years, many of those as a New Zealand Police Association representative (i.e. the closest non-commissioned officers are allowed to get to a union). As a result, he dealt with more than enough of the obnoxious cops both in management and on the front line.

One thing that makes me happy about the local police is that the frontline cops in my area really don't like that 1%. They cause trouble for everyone, whether you're wearing a blue shirt or not. As well as legal and disciplinary concerns, there's quite a bit of social pressure for the bent cops to leave the job and never come back. Trust and respect are things that are an important part of day to day life, and if you don't have them for someone, they know about it.

One thing that makes me unhappy about the local police is that the commissioned officers seem to be quite different. The Officer's Guild (yes, really their name) has a culture that's closer to the empire builders of corporate middle management. They'll close ranks, throw their weight around, push through spurious complaints in the hopes of pushing out officers they're at odds with, and so forth. (Oddly enough, both of Dad's gold medals for bravery came about as a result of disciplinary action going up to the Commissioner's office, while he was acting as the local Police Association secretary.)

They'll happily contradict people against the public interest if it makes them look better: when the Police Association says "we need more funding for front line officers, especially on general duties" the Guild says "No, everything's fine here, we're managing everything properly, and P.S. we like your ring-fenced traffic enforcement funding too." Since they have the rank advantage, the Ministry of Police listens to them.

If we have this kind of bullshit going on in a relatively benign, safe and low-corruption country like New Zealand, I hate to think just how broken the system/culture could get in a place like Michigan. Even with good people behind the badges.

[y2kdragon.livejournal.com]

That's fine, if already chosen to sit on a jury. While I'm in a pool, not assigned to any case, I'm just another knowledgeable citizen. And if someone else were to ask me about what I was reading, it would be impolite to just tell them "sorry, I can't tell you", when I'm reading about something that is their right to know.

Of course, if I am selected to be on a jury, then that stuff all gets put away and I abide by the rules of the court fully. No skirting edges.

[etcet.livejournal.com]

I don't see anything in 23b that seems to apply:

http://neuro.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcrmp/Rule23.htm

Unless you're referring to the section that says "the jury can be smaller than 12 persons."

[etcet.livejournal.com]

I'm having a hard time squaring "dismissal for knowing about nullification" with "juror has been incapacitated".

The verbiage I presume you're referring to is, "This situation is that in which, after the jury has retired to consider its verdict and any alternate jurors have been discharged, one of the jurors is seriously incapacitated or otherwise found to be unable to continue service upon the jury."

I will never advocate for the giving up of individual rights or checks against the government, and, frankly, will advocate for greater rights, freedoms, and powers for the individual against the state. I realize this makes me a borderline seditionist in some circles, but, really, I might as well have "Fuck you, Big Brother" tattooed upon me somewhere by this point. *chuckle*

[y2kdragon.livejournal.com]

"This situation is that in which, after the jury has retired to consider its verdict..."

See, there is my distinction. I intend to inform before any jury I sit on is even selected. Once selected, I know that anything I try to do to influence the thinking of another juror could be considered a form of jury tampering, and I just won't go there.

I have great respect for the legal system (eying his wife who is about to graduate with a degree in Legal Studies). I don't mess with the system, no matter how dysfunctional it may be at times. But helping my fellow jurors to know their own rights, to me, is also important.