The American judicial system is not perfect. A blatant example is O.J. Simpson getting away with murder. But justice nailed him the second time for an almost silly act, giving him 15 years in jail.
Sometimes we can be pleasantly surprised. The U.S. Supreme Court, for example, is acknowledged to be Republican controlled. Yet, it transcended politics by last year validating Obama Care and this year endorsing gay marriage.
We like to think that our legal system is generally fair and a model for the world. Take China, for example. From the July issue of News China, the following poll: Do you think China's "people's jurors" [picked at random from the public] are just for show:
Sometimes we can be pleasantly surprised. The U.S. Supreme Court, for example, is acknowledged to be Republican controlled. Yet, it transcended politics by last year validating Obama Care and this year endorsing gay marriage.
We like to think that our legal system is generally fair and a model for the world. Take China, for example. From the July issue of News China, the following poll: Do you think China's "people's jurors" [picked at random from the public] are just for show:
Yes, 98%
No 2%
Transparency International's Global Corruption Barometer reports on the subject. Their judicial comparison is interesting. The following numbers refer to the percent of respondents from each country who felt their legal system is corrupt (China is not listed, but based on that News China poll should have):
- Paraguay is the worst (close to 90%)
- Russia (60+%)
- USA (50+%)
- Japan (almost 30%)
- Denmark and Singapore (10% or less)
America's courts are almost like Russia? Wow, that's stunning!
About George Zimmerman (29, left), who is on trial for the second degree (not intentional) murder of Trayvon Martin (17) in Florida. He could get life in prison. Under "normal" circumstances, this case should not have gone to court. He has a clean record (one case of violence was dropped), he was a Neighborhood Watch Captain who called 911 to report a suspicious person in a hood before the shooting, and his father was a judicial officer in Virginia for six years. The media blew this up to be some kind of racial issue and the authorities in that state caved in to public opinion. Understandably, for every Black celebrity I've seen has with some malice crucified Zimmerman as guilty. Not one said he must be judged innocent until proven guilty. The State is seriously concerned that anything less than guilty will result in riots. The demographics in Florida show 17% Black and 23% Hispanic.
About the case so far, the defense was compromised by the legal system:
- cannot use a photo of Martin showing his gold teeth while sticking up his middle finger
- his school record, which indicates he was suspended a month before the altercation
- photos of Martin blowing smoke and what appear to be marijuana plants
- video suggesting that Martin was involved with organized gang fights
The jury will begin deliberating by Friday, and even with the above restrictions, I would be shocked if Zimmerman is proven to be guilty even of manslaughter, a lower order crime. In fact, I would be surprised if he is not totally acquitted. The scuttlebutt which the jurors have heard (the jurors, six females, are sequestered, but this information was published before the trial began) is that Martin smoked marijuana, and drunk alcohol the day of the killing, or at least was "under the influence" after he left the 7/11 just before the encounter. The conclusion is that Martin was sitting on top of Zimmerman and beating him. Who would not shoot under those conditions? But you never know, even in America. (Cartoon from the Denver Post.)
The Dow Jones Industrial Average broke an all-time record today, going up to 15461.
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