The first story about David Rosenbaum was perfect. Unfortunately, I can see it happening in my own town as our county has an interstate running through it. Homeless camps all over, and so many transients. Thinking that David was just another drunk, he lost precious time and paid with his life. I know it's only human to think drunks and druggies aren't as urgent as a prominent citizen, but they are sons, daughters, sisters, brothers also.
I've also just taken a class on the Psychology of Criminal Justice. It mirrored the book in a lot of ways: interview techniques, lineups, eye witness testimony. Lots of great info with the class and it appears that our minds and memories aren't as sharp as we think. There are thousands of innocent people in jail based on faulty eye witness testimony.
Basically, I think in the court system, it's pretty much the luck of the draw with some judges. We have one judge in our county who is known as the "Hanging judge". He does not put up with any crap. But, if you have another judge, you just may slip on by.
One of the attorneys I work for is a public defender, and just like in the book, PD's really don't do the jobs like a paid attorney would. It shouldn't be that way, but it is. We have a ton of folks who can't afford an attorney and are in their 10th cycle and expect to have the best. It's not happening. The other attorney I work for is not a PD, and he is awesome. It's not just a job for him, it's his name!
All in all, I think this is an excellent book and gives an interesting insight into the world of criminal justice and the Supreme Court.
"I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."
No comments:
Post a Comment