Sunday, August 09, 2009

Rethinking Law In General

I am starting to wonder if our legal system is just overwhelmed and understaffed. The time pressures to make a decision and the endless cycles of appeals and motions drag cases on often for a decade. Law enforcement types at the police level overcharge with seven or eight charges and the result is typically disorderly conduct.

Maybe the answer is to hire more judges to reduce work loads. Maybe the answer is to swing for the fences on the first shot. However, the pattern is to go for the chip shot and see if we need to swing for the fences later. The discussion of this point was we have person x on charge a dead to rights. Lets go for a and save b if we really need it on appeal.

I am seriously annoyed at the treatment of drunk driving. It is not uncommon to have a situation where people have two or more convictions given one year conditional discharge. I want the following legal change to be written into law.

No change in Immigration status for five years after one conviction of Drunk driving. If a second one occurs while you are waiting immediate deportation.

Drunk driving and driving under the influence of drugs is a very dangerous crime. We should take this far more seriously than mere possession of gun without a license. We do not take this crime seriously enough and it crosses all income levels.

Plaxico Burress is looking at three years in jail for shooting himself. In reality there should be a law against handling firearms while impaired. Burress also placed a gun in the pocket of his sweatpants and everyone knows what happens when one places anything in sweat pants pockets. New York State does not enforce the laws of common sense. Ironically had Plaxico merely been convicted of a DWI his career would have been uninerupted.

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