Do you think the American legal system is designed to protect the criminal or th

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   Born2care2001posted 11 years ago

   Do you think the American legal system is designed to protect the criminal or the victim?
   
   Our constitution indicates that we have the right to a fair and speedy trial and that the accused is considered innocent until proven guilty. Does that system still serve us adequately today?

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2. 73

   d.williamposted 11 years ago

   Yes, this system still serves us well today.  Although it would seem that the laws are there more to protect the criminals than their victims these days, they are designed to make sure people convicted of crimes are done so legitimately. 
   There are way too many innocent people sent to prison than we care to think about. Prosecutors have no interested in whether you and i are actually guilty or not, as long as they win their case.  A good defense attorney will make sure that their clients are convicted on hard facts and evidence, although that is rarely the case.  More people are sent to prison on circumstantial evidence, and contrived stories by the prosecutors than based on actual guilt of the crime, and a jury that will find the accused guilty of the crime based on their appearance, demeanor, race, nationality, sexual proclivities, and the actual religious brainwashing of the jurors, rather than the facts.  Sad but true.

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3. 77

   stclairjackposted 11 years ago

   Today’s American justice system does not concern itself with victims beyond assigning a numeric value to their anguish,… it does not concern itself with the perpetrator of crimes beyond the numeric value of the offence,…… it cannot even claim to be in the endeavor of “justice” for which it is named.
   
   The American 21st century justice system is concerned with due process,…. Let us say that once more,…… “due process” You,… weather you be victim or perpetrator will be……  “processed”
   
   The American system of justice is an economic machine in and of itself,…. It requires both victims and perpetrators in order to generate fines, penalties, fees etc.
   
   The American system of justice employs thousands in jobs all across the nation… lawyers, judges, bookkeepers, legal aids, counselors, case workers, social workers, therapists, psychologists. never under estimate the number of jobs in prisons across the nation, thousands of jobs in criminal corrections depend on the steady stream of offenders and victims.
   
   Freedom in America is an illusion,… we are chattel to be fed through the justice “system” ,… we think that we operate well within the law,…. But as the populace learns the confines of the law, the lines will be redrawn by our corporate legal system so that they might get more “clients”
   
   “I have broken no law” you will say,….. “there is a new law,.. You broke a new law,.. Ignorance of the law is no legal defense”
   
   And you will be arrested by one of the 1000’s of police officers whose jobs depend on you,… to be either victim or perpetrator…. and begin your long slow path through the justice “system”…. you will receive “due process”,…. then you will pay the appropriate fines, fee’s, etc,… and if you are released back into the pasture you will be monitored by those whose job it is to do such things,… if your crime merits jail time you will be corralled in a prison that employs 100’s so that the regular law abiding chattel might be protected from you,… you will receive re-education, job training, counseling,.. All from professionals who need you to need them.
   
   the American justice system cares no different for the victim nor the victimizer,… both are profitable.

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      d.williamposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      This sounds so cold and callous, but it is the truth.  Well said.

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      Robin Cristyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Unfortunately, I clicked a Thumbs-up...

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   Nancy's Nicheposted 11 years ago

   No, I don’t think our legal system is designed to protect either the victim or the criminal. Our country has the largest number of incarcerated in the world. Most attorneys today are too concerned with political gain to make sure a client is being given a fair trial. They charge so much money (forget about pro-bono work) that the poor person gets a court appointed attorney. This person usually works in the DA’s office. Therefore, how objective can he/she be in that scenario?
   
   Instead of misdemeanors, everything seems to be a felony, which destroys one’s life and livelihood. In the case of sex offenses, one does not have to be guilty; the accusation just has to made. In fact, that law is so broad that if you’re caught urinating in the street you will be labeled a sex offender and have to register. Our system has become one where you are guilty until proven innocent. Quite the reverse of what our constitution spells out.
   
   Then there are judges who hand down outrageous sentences, juries that ignore the concept of “guilty beyond a reasonable doubt,” cops that will set people up and prosecutors that hide evidence, which proves innocence. Another career advancement technique --- how unethical and nothing is done to the prosecutor when this occurs.
   
   Victims many times provide incorrect identification, lie about the circumstances, or their testimony is driven by spite and revenge. Let’s see, once arrested, a person can sit in jail for months --- so much for the speedy trial!
   
   Let’s add to that all the laws made after 9/11 that violates our constitutional rights, ex, the NDAA bill, the TSA, drones, etc. All this and more in the name of safety and security... Wake up; it is the U.S. citizens paying the price for that act of senseless violence; not the people who carried it out.
   
   http://www.innocenceproject.org/
   http://nancysniche.hubpages.com/hub/A-QUESTION-OF-GUILT
   http://nancysniche.hubpages.com/hub/WRONGFUL-COVICTIONS
   http://nancysniche.hubpages.com/hub/Our … es-Ravaged
   
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Innoc … Small_Town

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   fpherj48posted 11 years ago

   Born2care........The American legal system, at one time...long ago, may have been "designed to protect both victim and the accused/defendant.".... but through the years, our Justice System has become a Joke.....an embarrassment to our Nation.
   Attorneys ....all due respect, are over-booked & scheduled....over priced.....and less than genuine in their concern for the client, unless high profile or politically beneficial.  Prosecutorial misconduct is rampant, which has become an expected and accepted practice.  Law enforcement officials and investigators use any and all means and methods whether humane, honest or even legitimate....to extract confessions, create "deals" with one criminal for the purpose of convicting another criminal, planting evidence, destroying other evidence and outright deception.   
   Our courts are run by human beings.  All manner of human nature, good, bad and indifferent, therefore, plays out within all systems.  One FACT holds firm and true.  Money can buy the BEST of defense...a TEAM of defense attorneys, which in turn increases the chance that the accused will be found NOT guilty, rightly or wrongly.....   While the poor, relying upon a public defender (usually fresh out of law school & clueless)  is destined to do time behind bars, whether guilty IN FACT or by default.
   The very BEST education, that stands firmly as a BLATANT and egregious testament to the fatally flawed Justice System in our country, today...is THE MARTY TANKLEFF CASE, New York State.   Simply google this young man's name.....begin at the BEGINNING ...and if you can BEAR the horrors of injustice throughout the worst miscarriage of justice ever......read to the end.  This case is in plain English, a MIND-BLOWER for the average citizen to assimilate.   You WILL be outraged.  Never again, will you view the Justice System in our country in a positive or hopeful light.

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   lburmasterposted 11 years ago

   Criminal. The system you described is not what I see or hear about in criminal justice and law classes. Instead every person describes the system as searching for someone to attack and blame.

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   Old Empresarioposted 11 years ago

   For the most part, it still protects the victim. The trouble is, cops get carried away and one is lucky to get away with their life or property before facing their day in court. But this is nothing new in the US. Cops are tough in every country and they have always been pretty tough in the US.
   
   On a more ominous note, I would ask this same question to US citizens Bradley Manning; Anwar al-Aulaqi, M.A.; and any other natural-born US citizens who were either imprisoned without charge or trial, tortured, or assassinated without due process of law. The line seems to be drawn right now at tough-talking Moslems and government employees who leak information. But where will that line be pushed back 10 or 20 years from now?--to people who speak out against an administration's foreign policies? Will people who look at classified documents that are posted online one day be held indefinitely? In wartime, the US government has historically set aside the Bill of Rights until the war was over (Civil War, WWI, and WWII). But now the US government has delcared a "War on Terror". Where does that war begin or end? How do we fight it? It is a perpetual war that exists that now allows the government to permanently set aside the Bill of Rights on anyone that the President deems an "enemy of the state".

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      stclairjackposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      well said

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   violetheavenposted 11 years ago

   I think the American legal system is designed to imprison people.  There is no guarantee that justice is truly being served.  With human error, ego, and politics at the helm, its to often about popularity instead of right and wrong.  Its a sign that we are in moral decline.

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   lrc7815posted 11 years ago

   I had this discussion with an attorney friend some years ago.  The short answer is, that our system was designed to protect ALL people but like all things, it has been diluted and corrupted by wealth and power and now, for the most part, it really only protects those who can afford to purchase justice.  Sometimes that's the criminal and sometimes it's the victim.  The scales of justice tip to whoever puts more money on the scale. 
   
   I think it's also important to remember that the burden of proof is on the court.  There are times when the evidence simply doesn't exist to prove what may be perfectly obvious.  In that case, te law often protects the criminal.  It's angers us but, would we feel differently about what evidence can prove if we were falsely charged with a crime?  Probably.  I think it's a real problem in our courts but I can't offer a solution beyond disavowing privately payed attorneys.  And we all now that's not going to happen.

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    Express10posted 11 years ago

    The criminals have so many protections and benefits that law abiding and hard working citizens don't enjoy. There are actually a few people that are homeless or in need of regular medical care that commit crimes just to go to jail because they have meals, medical care, a roof over their heads, education if they want it, cable t.v., and more. Jail and prisons are not doing the intended job and the system itself does not adequately serve us today. Quite often you find that the guilty are allowed opportunity to do more evil deeds or flee from "justice."

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    tamarawilhiteposted 7 years ago

    It is designed to stretch things out and yield rewards for attorneys.

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