December 13, 2004
Government Failure
Via Avedon I learned that John Perry Barlow is going to court, is doing battle for our freedom:
Apparently, everyone else who has been arrested as a consequences of these inspections, and there have been many, has pled guilty rather than face the cost and trouble of mounting a constitutional defense.That his defense has a handsome cost, that people plead guilty rather than face the cost and trouble of contesting in court tells me that we no longer have a system of justice for the people of this country. People must be able to challenge the behavior of government, business, and other people in a timely fashion and at a reasonable cost. The backlogged courts and monopoly cost of legal assistance are significant failures of federal, state, and city governments in the US. Posted by Steve on December 13, 2004I might have done so myself had it not been for Gilmore's willingness to support the handsome cost of my defense. That, and the recognition that unconstitutional behavior by the authorities is constrained only by the peoples' willingness to contest them.
Comments
Welcome to the obvious.
It is possible to get justice in a courtroom. But you risk terrible things if you depend on being dealt with fairly. The cops and prosecutors have been stacking the deck in their own favor for decades.
Posted by Rod Cadmium at December 13, 2004 9:58 AM
