The US Justice System is RIGGED

On this episode of Common Sense Soapbox, Seamus gives the crew a lesson on how biased the American justice system really is.
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CREDITS:
Written by Sean W. Malone
Animated by LtAmazil, Adamdonk, and Emily Slatt
Voiced by Seamus Coughlin and nosoup4knowles
Layout by Jaime Velasquez, Trevor Smith
Produced & Edited by Sean W. Malone
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LINKS:
- Plea Bargains -
www.npr.org/20....
www.aclu.org/n...
www.ojp.gov/nc...
- Politics of Prosecution -
www.ojp.gov/nc....
harpers.org/20...
law.stanford.e...
www.novalegalg...
- Two-Tiered Justice -
www.commondrea...
www.thecenters...
time.com/62889...

[@user-wl7pj7xt4v]

Don’t forget, the government claimed no wrongdoing in both Ruby Ridge and Waco

[@psychlops924]

“It says here in this history book that luckily, the good guys have won every single time. What are the odds?” -Norm MacDonald

[@Stuff857]

​@@psychlops924 After having just watched Painkiller, couldn't be more true.

[@zanleekain117]

"We have investigated ourselves and found no wrong doing."

[@purplelove392]

@@zanleekain117 came to say this.

[@pilgrim42]

C'mon, man. The government thoroughly investigated themselves and cleared themselves of all wrongdoing.

[@Todd_Swank]

Give the government long enough, they can find the crime to charge you with.

[@SweatyFatGuy]

Or make one up...

[@popsmokeandghost2416]

​​@@SweatyFatGuy...like with Trump🤔

[@trinketsphinx3212]

I knew a retired cop once, and he said it's not a question of did they commit a crime, it's what crime can you prove. He claimed he could follow absolutely any driver for 5 miles and find something to give them a ticket for. Which sounds ridiculous until you remember how often people eat, drink, search directions, have a busted tail-light, etc, etc, etc. If someone with the power to do so wants you in prison, that's where you're going to go. And it shouldn't be that way, but here we are.

[@tuseroni6085]

"show me the man and i'll show you the crime"

[@jeremykraenzlein5975]

"Show me the man, and I will show you the crime". I don't remember if it was Lenin or Stalin, but one of those communists said this. Anyone they wanted to put in jail, they could find a crime to charge that person with.

[@yallneedjesus5465]

My teacher always told me in government class "The United States has the best legal system money can buy"

[@CommodoreFan64]

It should be the US has the best legal system money can buy, bribe, extort, and coerce.

[@clogs4956]

My Dad used to say that, too. We live in the UK…

[@metazoxan2]

@@clogs4956 It's almost like every government will ultiamtely favor the rich and powerful. Seriously I hate when people try to call out the US for this shit as if they think other countries are better. In japan you're basically guilty if you go to Trial with a 90% or something like that conviction rate. In communist countries you're guilty if the party says you are. This is just reality. At least ideally the US system ... attempts fairness. Like at least there is effor to try you by a jury of peers, effort to make sure said people don't hace preconcieved biased against you, ect. Yeah you can buy your way around all that ... but no matter what Legal system we had you'd be able to buy your way around it. Like what system do people think we could have that wouldn't be the same thing but slightly different?

[@noticedruid4985]

Not if you have the wrong politics, not even money can help you there.

[@Mythhammer]

And has...

[@khukri_wielderxxx1962]

As styx stated: "The law is like a spider's web, the flies get caught while the wasps go free"

[@sexistspaghettios]

That's an old saying but yes, Styx is very fond of it lol 🥄🥄

[@gamingforever9121]

Glad to see a fellow clanker! 🥄

[@paulgavian90]

Soo dam true

[@kuro_b5978]

It has always been two tiered, now it's a three tiered system. Ordinary people, the elites who skate, and the enemy of the state who receive made up charges.

[@sleepy1697]

DID it change though? I kind of feel like it's always been like this, but the state's "enemies" have only recently turned into politicians.

[@jeremykraenzlein5975]

I'm not sure that it has always been like that. I'm too young to remember any abuses in the sixties or seventies, but since I came of age in the early 1990's, there were occasional isolated scandals, but overall the DOJ and FBI always seemed apolitical and evenhanded until 2016, when they started going after Trump and inventing excuses to not charge Hillary. When people say that "These days, the media doesn't even pretend to be fair", my response is "did they ever?", as there has never been a fair media as long as I can remember, but I wouldn't say the same thing about the justice system.

[@kuro_b5978]

@@sleepy1697 probably no change, it's just blatant for all to see now.

[@tra-viskaiser8737]

They call it "enhanced" and "one time" charges

[@Richforce1]

​@jeremykraenzlein5975 It was, even before America, just a result of human nature. That's why I don't depend on the courts for justice, "Vengeance is mine, thus sayeth The Lord."

[@michaelgrunden5011]

I lost all respect for the criminal justice system when I actually had to deal with them. Had a seizure in my cousins driveway after giving him a ride home from work. (A cousin i hadnt seen in 15 years, as I moved out of atate when I was 19) had a seizure in his drive way, and rescue squad packed me into his house. The house smelled of marijuana, and there was some in the house. I was taken to the hospital, and given a drug test. Passed. No drugs in my system, but was still charged for the marijuana in my cousins house. (38 years old, never been in trouble prior) I was taken to jail, and went to "virtual court" the following day. Since I was from out of state, the judge denied me bail. Due to covid rules at the time, court was closed. So, i was forced to sit in jail for I months before going to my court date. During this time, I lost my house that 3/4 paid for, cars were repossessed, credit ruined. Then, i go to court, and my lawyer tells me that i have to plead guilty to the lowest charge, or I would have to go to trial. That would mean waiting (in jail) for another 6 months, and I would then need to pay my lawyer an additional $30K, as well. Since eveeything i had worked to obtain throughout my life had already been seized at this point, I did not have the additional funds to pay the lawyer. So, for a guilty plea of a C misdemeanor (the lowest possible crime) I lost 8 months of my life, and a liftime of saved assets. I got out of jail and was homeless for 3 months before i worked and saved enough to get an apartment, and then, could not find work in my field due to those charges. Had to work for about 40% average salary for almost a year.

[@J_Halcyon]

The process is the punishment

[@prettyboyjeremy]

Skill issue. You just outright refuse to go with the police. Even if they do arrest you admit to nothing, sign nothing, deny everything, tell them with upmost surgical precision the taste of their mother's chocolate starfish. Pit them against each other. Make them feel like they're locked in with you not you locked in with them. I've seen cruel unalivers get off using this method innocent people definitely should.

[@Electron42]

Where was your cousin during all this?

[@igiby1017]

It's worth noting that the Bill of Rights was written to protect people from being held in jail for months without legal defense.

[@TheBcoolGuy]

May the Lord have mercy on your poor soul. You did not deserve to go through any of that. That is persecution. The monsters who did that to you did not deliver any justice. Only hardship, punishment, and tyranny. Government is a bigger threat to most people than criminals are, at least at this point.

[@jackhhun2698]

as a leftist this was my biggiest arguement and now suddenly the left doesn't talk about it any more

[@notmousse]

Shocking.

[@flemishgiantrabbitlove2869]

Lol it be that way

[@Grimmlocked]

lol because they now have the hammer

[@____________________________.x]

Power corrupts

[@SweatyFatGuy]

They say it don't be like dat, but it do. As long as it benefits them, they won't complain about it.

[@christopherkopperman8108]

I was on trial once. During the voir dire the prosecutor asked the potential jury pool what was the prosecutor's job. Lot's of answers; punish criminals, get a guilty verdict, speak for the victims. One person gave the best answer, she said "to find the truth". Prosecutor dismissed her first.

[@nathanielbass771]

a question I have is: "why are they even allowed to dismiss jurors in the first place unless there is an extensive circumstance, which even then is hard to define..."

[@christopherkopperman8108]

@@nathanielbass771 Voir Dire means to speak the truth. It is a way for lawyers to sus out jurors who aren't after the truth but are biased from the beginning. And yes it is hard to define which is why lawyers often get a number of strikes they can use for any reason so they don't have to prove a bad feeling. Which is why it is hilarious (in a bad way) that the prosecutor felt finding the truth was somehow biased against her case.

[@nathanielbass771]

@@christopherkopperman8108 then there's the other problem: jury duty, which requires citizens to suspend their lives

[@christopherkopperman8108]

@@nathanielbass771 One of the really messed up problems is that Juries often assume you must have done something else why are you even there. Prosecutors throw several charges at you then knowing that one charge may be hard to prove but letting the jury pick which charge your guilty of is much easier. This is the same thing done with small children, give them slightly different choices to pick from so they are less likely to pick none.

[@AtarahDerek]

This is why Jefferson's biggest complaint about the Constitution was that there are virtually no checks and balances on the judiciary branch. There are none at all today. I'm just waiting for Judge Claude Frollo to spawn in real life. Sounding like Tony Jay and everything.

[@bobmorgan1575]

It's called impeachment. Even SCOTUS judges are not immune from being impeached by the House for bad behavior. Read the Constitution, it's in Article III I believe.

[@drip369]

Yeah it's called political privilege and wealth privilege but the fact that they are weaponizing the judicial system is extremely dangerous and you would think it would be unconstitutional

[@roflchopter11]

It is, they just don't care. And it seems unlikely they willing spontaneously start caring in the future.

[@drip369]

@@roflchopter11 true but we ourselves need to care and to do something about it. These people are not above the law and they bleed all the same

[@roflchopter11]

@@drip369 they effectively are above the law.

[@kinghyperheart1571]

Then I say we must make them bleed.

[@roflchopter11]

@@kinghyperheart1571 fed

[@acifrode]

Three tier justice system: those they don't prosecute, those they don't care about unless they do something wrong and those they will prosecute no matter what.

[@michaelvandeginste3497]

aka those above the law, subject to the law, and below the law.

[@marvalice3455]

That's not what second tier is. Second tier is "only prosecute if you smell blood"

[@davidelzinga9757]

This. This hit my family when we least expected from people we were supposed to be able to trust. The lasting trauma, the cost, the unjust record, the stigma, and the icing on the cake being the desire of people online to exploit money by making sure mugshots and records are at the front of searches unless you pay to have them removed. It’s a bad way to find out you can’t trust police or social workers

[@frankvandorp2059]

I live in a country (Netherlands) where prosecutors and judges are not elected or appointed by politicians and I can guarantee you our system is not any better. They effectively morphed into their own separate mini-government where everyone has more or less the same political/ideological views, and only people who share those views are ever allowed to get into their system. The result is that their pro-EU, environmentalist, globalist, pro-establishment views often become the de facto law of the land, despite the fact that only a minority of the population shares those views and actively votes against those ideals, but there is no democratic check on the judicial branch so it doesn't really matter what people vote for. And judges in several instances have actively overruled the policies of the executive branch out of transparently flimsy, ideological motives. And it's extremely common for people who hold similar views as the judicial establishment to never get prosecuted for crimes, no matter the evidence, while others who have different politics have the book thrown at them to an extreme degree.

[@krashanb5767]

Same in Poland 😢

[@rjbourgeois5490]

"We've investigated ourselves and found no wrongdoing." Hence why you need to be able to bring charges yourself upon those whom have wronged you. No third party intermediary or representatives necessary. You don't need a third party representative, in fact it's far better to represent yourself if you have actually done your research into the matters at play. Prosecution and Defense attorneys are on the same team as the STATE, under the BAR association. The only thing stopping the people is the lack of willingness to study in order to obtain the necessary knowledge to push forward greviances themselves. Most don't even know what a crime actually is, and they get suckered into believing that anything drafted by legislators is a crime, which lead to the whole corrupt system from the top down. Challenging things on jurisdiction alone is very rare because the people have given their government WAY to much power over them. Their dependency and blind acceptance of a representative/representation cited to hold people accountable, gives that representative the all the power to instill such a system. Apathy and Ignorance. The two major problems with the state nationals of the several states of America. That's not even bringing into the fact of the matter that there are different types of systems of law at play that most don't know about or attempt to overstand. LAW is an acronym. Land, Air, and Water. The three major jurisdictions. Unless you know what court system you playing/contesting in, you are fucked from the start. The government's only reason for it's existence was to ensure and protect our rights bestowed by God. It's garnered more power through fear and intimidation and it shows in our just-us systems at play. Corruption from the top down, all the way to the city and local policy and law enforcement aparatuses.

[@justicedunham4088]

It’s closer to a 3 tiered justice system. The Protected, the Ignored, and the Persecuted

[@gorgeousfreeman1318]

The presumed guilty

[@GrumpyWolfTech]

In the late 90s I was a teen, I was hit with a measure 11 offense in Oregon (mandatory minimum sentencing). You are exactly right, I was scared into taking a plea bargain because my family didn't have money to spend on a good attorney. Even though it's been 25 years and I never committed another crime I still have this hanging over my head. The system is bs.

[@abetterfuture4787]

Stop calling it the "Justice" system, it's the "Legal" system.

[@James_Bee]

Exactly. And it may not be fair, but it's the fairest thing we have in a sinful world.

[@twisted-eclipse3988]

Amen to that.

[@Steven9567]

the founder fathers would have rebel the court system is working@@James_Bee

[@marvalice3455]

Justice is a virtue. Legalism is a vice.

[@gamingforever9121]

@@James_Beeit’s neither fair nor just, at best it gets justice some of the time. Usually by accident. Justice isn’t blind nor is it free you pay for your own defense or you go to prison .

[@segevstormlord3713]

The troubling thing here is that the flaws pointed out are not even easy to resolve. Imagine if, instead of electing DAs or having them appointed by elected officials, they were answerable to nobody at all save a Byzantine bureaucracy. We already see the results of that with the Regulatory State, which is insulated even from the President who in theory is the Executive in charge of the branch of government which they allegedly serve. The reason we see so things like mandatory minimum sentencing, too, is because before Soros was installing DAs, the Left was installing Judges who used THEIR power to overturn the rule of law by simply assigning slaps on the wrist to criminals with the right connections or who checked the right boxes or simply who served the Judges' activist causes to have pay no real penalty. I honestly don't see a good solution for this beyond better oversight by the American people, who need to take a greater interest and be more informed. And that is an eternal struggle.

[@tuseroni6085]

sadly we didn't get here overnight and we won't get back that quick either. the ship of state is large as doesn't move quickly...but it carries with it 50 schooners that can map out paths to safer waters, we just gotta get em free. (yes i don't know anything about sailing, don't correct my maritime lexicon, i just couldn't let a metaphor die) i think one thing would be revisting citizens united, i think if you take money to promote a candidate, that is a campaign contribution. you can buy ads, you can promote a candidate til you are blue in the face, but if you solicit and accept money for that purpose those are campaign contributions. just the same as you have a right to have sex with as many people as you want, but if you are taking money for it, it's prostitution. i think citizens united ruling was a bad one and it meant that people running for office could go to a handful of super wealthy donors for all their campaign needs, rather than gaining support from a bunch of small donors, like the law intended. come on supreme court, you have been knocking it out of the park so far, take this one up.

[@segevstormlord3713]

@@tuseroni6085 Citizens United actually merely leveled the playing field. Previously, Unions and other allegedly non-profit organizations and "public-interest" groups could donate all they wanted, while corporations and the like could not, and this generally was rigged in such a way that the Democrats' allies had the special privilege while the Republicans' allies were limited in their allowed support. The problem with trying to limit it is that it is limiting speech. How could it not be? After all, is my saying, "I think Ron DeSantis would make a good President!" me making a donation to his campaign that I must now account for, because people can see me saying it? What if I ran an ad saying, "We need to close the border!" Is that a contribution to every campaign of every candidate running on border security? Limiting speech is never going to be a good solution; it's bad that politicians feel beholden to special moneyed interests, but it gets much worse when speech is limited, because those moneyed interests will find ways that only they can afford to circumvent the limits, while enforcing them harshly on the less well-off to silence them.

[@tuseroni6085]

@@segevstormlord3713 "After all, is my saying, "I think Ron DeSantis would make a good President!" me making a donation to his campaign that I must now account for," i already covered this, you can campaign all you like, you can sing the praises of ron desantis til you are blue in the face, but if you solicit funds to do it that is a campaign donation. just the same as you can have sex with as many people as you want, but if you take money for it that's prostitution. the unions, non profits, etc should be held to the same donation restrictions as individuals and corporations (or, better still, only individuals should be allowed to donate. why are non-profits and corporations giving campaign donations in the first place) i have no issue with corporate personhood, but they are not ACTUALY people, they are legal fiction, and so they do not get all the same rights. corporations are MADE of people, and THOSE people can donate their own money subject to the same donation limitations as anyone else, and they shouldn't be allowed the same free speech to campaign on behalf of a candidate unless they are specifically set up to do so (and thus soliciting campaign donations, and thus individuals giving to that corporation are limited the same as if they gave to the campaign directly) i have no problems limiting the free speech of unions, non-profits, and corporations alike. you are free to speak as an individual in one of those organizations but not AS that organization. i hope this clears things up, and that you read this far.

[@LDSkinny]

Honestly the bigger problem is the primary system. They never should have opened it up to general voters, because turnout for primaries are extremely small, and the people who do show up tend to be highly motivated interest groups. So what you get is if you have 100,000 voters show up in the general, only about 25,000 - 50,000 show up to the primary. Those 25,000 in the worst case tend to be the people with the most extreme policies, so this leads to schizophrenic candidates who have to appeal to fringe of their party to win the primary, then they have to immediately pivot to sounding moderate during the general. Not only this, but because the turnout needed to win a primary is so small, wealthy self funded individuals, or people who are famous already, can completely dominate a primary with little hope of winning. Couple that with our First Past the Post voting system and you end up with an election system that heavily incentivizes being the most extremist candidates possible. I think Ranked Choice (there are other systems that work well too) would go a long way, because there are a lot of Biden voters who would love to vote for someone else but fear splitting the vote would cause Trump to be elected, and Trump voters who feel voting for someone else would case Biden to be elected. I think getting rid of open primaries and replacing that system with a ranked choice general ballot would go a long way towards making moderates viable again.

[@silverhawkscape2677]

In short. They always Win. The fact the only counter is an Eternally Vigilant Population means they always Win.

[@bensonofthunder9229]

What is also discusting is the fact that the prosecution can also drag things out due to lack of evidence. I have a friend who was all but framed by a person in the community who happened to hate his guts. To make it short, the person who charged him was robbed, but the camera was blurry. My friend had a similar beard and car to the person who stole this guys stuff. So the police show up, and he allows them to search his house and is arrested with no evidence. Eventually, the case was thrown out, but only after a year and a half and multiple extensions for the prosecution to find any compelling evidence. Literally no new evidence was found the whole time. I saw the pictures and I can't believe they even tried to charge him. The person didn't even look to be the same hight build or weight but it was too dark to see his face. A similar beard was enough to keep this going that long. Justice folks.

[@ChaosJesterYT]

Ace Attorney trials don’t seem so bad in comparison looking at this video Love your guys work, keep it up

[@ultrakid8497]

The fact that you're not wrong anymore

[@daskampffredchen]

Well this was the third Trial and we couldnt find the real guy so you are guilty

[@XFizzlepop-Berrytwist]

I mean until you realize the judge was a bad judge. XD Phoenix Wright proved his clients innocence in one episode, but was still going to send his client to prison unless the criminal was found. XD I know its a drama and not realistic, but still. XD

[@genghiskhan5701]

Japanese justice system is insanely biased against the defense

[@Veylon]

Japan has a 99% prosecution success rate. Ace Attorney is poking fun at the absurd lengths the justice system over there goes to to convict anyone who is arrested.

[@EngNerdGMN]

*I take exception to the legal defense depiction!!* It's not showing that the other end of that blower is sucking money from taxpayer wallets.

[@shioq.]

mandatory minimum sentences were created to prevent activist judges

[@draketheduelist]

Great Moments in Unintended Consequences

[@gorgeousfreeman1318]

As if they don't exist anyway

[@user-ii5im7zm2t]

The US DOJ almost never charge anyone with counts that carry a mandatory minimum, explicitly because the prosecutors are acting on behalf of the felons to get them released. The false claim in this video that they are threatening everyone with mandatory minimums is a left-wing fantasy.

[@jamesdinius7769]

And Activist prosecutors are so much better?

[@Victor-056]

Funfact: The Law-Abiding Citizen was a movie that showed just how Two-Tiered the system was... And the only reason it even was _Allowed_ to be put in theaters at all, was because the Last Ten Minutes of the Movie ended with the Corrupt Persecutors _winning!_

[@PrometheusMMIV]

Allowed by who? On what grounds could it have been disallowed if the ending had been different?

[@noonespecial9704]

​@@PrometheusMMIVProsecuters would've sued the movie or tried to get it censored had it gone the other way. They are very good at finding loopholes, especially with Constitutional law as it's very vague in some cases.

[@sexistspaghettios]

​@@PrometheusMMIV All kinds of people can put a stop to movies being shown in theaters lol. This is not new news.

[@larion2336]

Yeah, great movie, terrible and unsatisfying ending. He should have burned the lot of them.

[@charleshill1906]

that movie was one big "fuck you" to the audience. At no point would someone willing to go to those lengths just to phone it in and allow the enemy to win at the very end. Nor would those investigators have ever been able to prove he was behind it.

[@49ersrules32]

If you have a warrant out of state they can take you without questioning til you see a judge of that state so please remember your lawyer and family number by heart.

[@TickedOffPriest]

With unlimited power, unlimited money, and no accountability, anything is possible.

[@silverhawkscape2677]

I now dream with my goal to reach such levels of power.

[@AcshualSnotski]

And don't even get me started on the summer of love folks treatment versus the right wing... It's all out there to see, and we're supposed to believe these same people are holding the safest and securest elections? If half this country believes that, half this country needs institutionalizing.

[@swapertxking]

I remember an expression from my law professor, all lawyers go to hell, but corporate defense lawyers stand atop the shoulders of public defense lawyers who stand atop the shoulders of prosecutors.

[@christsdisciple3105]

Yeah... my brother is currently in prison because of this kind of stuff. He was accused of something he didn't do. No evidence even pointed to it... but because the county didn't like him, they somehow found evidence. Took him to jail. We hired a lawyer who sucked and scared him into taking a plea deal that gave him more time than what the average maximum sentence is. We've now hired a new lawyer to try to reverse the plea. If the judge decides not to take the reversal, my brother is in prison for 20 years with no chance of getting good time because two people got a restraining order on him AFTER he was in prison.

[@kevinclause4p55p5]

It's 3 tier. Those the govt hates. Those the govt favors. Those the govt doesn't care about.

[@Dovoski]

The system isn’t rigged, it’s working exactly as intended.

[@tugalord]

Remember, its not a bug, its a feature.

[@mustang607]

Nowadays big government, growing bigger every day, constantly lifts up the blindfold of lady justice.

[@ChristianWagner888]

Government agents, politicians and billionaires are practically immune, as long as they have the "correct" ideology and the right connections, whereas those who are in opposition to the corrupt system become targets of prosecution. This happens in most countries, not just in the USA. Especially looking at the last three years, I have lost trust in the justice system in European countries as well. It is only slightly better than most of the "corrupt" developing nations.

[@elvagabundoilegal2868]

This is why there should be a judiciary accountability office, doing the same job as the GAO but for the judiciary branch

[@rwberger6]

Remember, Alec Baldwin shot a woman on the set of Rust in front of dozens of witnesses and had all charges dropped.

[@user-zu5do6ri6r]

He is now being charged for the same crime again. Double jeopardy.

[@joshuafletcher598]

In all fairness did he know the gun had a live round in it no

[@jamesdinius7769]

​@@joshuafletcher598If you can prove he didn't, that should still be a manslaughter charge at the minimum. He was being reckless with a firearm. Always assume a gun is loaded. That's rule number one of firearms safety.

[@hoosierdaddy1469]

Imagine how many cops would be in jail if they were prosecuted for their crimes.

[@mexicancanteen9596]

It would still be very few since their actions are largely protected under law

[@jennyderr1426]

sounds like we need a pheonix wright. [apolitical defence attorney who will always make sure true justice is served, regardless of who is against them]

[@megakidicarus4647]

Did you experience Spirit of Justice?

[@jennyderr1426]

@@megakidicarus4647 ...not yet.

[@MrEdrftgyuji]

The issue is that the judges are corrupt and will refuse evidence that makes the defendant look innocent.

[@jennyderr1426]

@@MrEdrftgyuji [thinks]... mr wright would then use an existing, already accepted piece of evidence. i mean, it's not like they would use their position to work with criminals to shift the blame and vilify innocent people, completely going against the oath they made to enack and preserve justice, right?

[@Snakedude4life]

Do you have enough money to make the government not want to prosecute you? Yes: GTA mode, all day No: “Did I just catch you havin’ fun?” 🎩 🐍 no step on Snek!🇺🇸🇭🇰

[@Noperare]

Here in Brazil, the supreme court doesn't even bother pretending to be neutral, they openly declared their intentions of fight right wing movents in all south america, not just Brazil.

[@HandsomeLongshanks]

This is why we should limit the prosecution to the amount the defendant can spend for their defense. Handcuff the government.

[@steamer2k319]

Interesting. There are such things as public defenders and they're mentioned in the Miranda Rights. It does seem like some trials should be more rigorous (on both sides) than others. I'd hate for a serial killer to go free just because they hid all their assets. Then again, cases with enough evidence shouldn't need much argumentation. If prosecutors are going to offer deals before going to trial, it seems like the public defender should be available for those discussions.

[@aaronjjacques]

a better solution is that the political party has to pay back the cost of the investigation and if they don't there is a 500% tax on any ad spend for the next election.

[@real_exodus]

@@steamer2k319 You speak of public defenders like they're competent and will perform better than private counsel lol

[@steamer2k319]

@@real_exodus Nah. Theoretically, they'd be about as competent as the prosecutor.

[@real_exodus]

@@steamer2k319 You'll get no argument from me there!

[@cherubin7th]

One issue is that the outcome of the trial is not robust and expensive lawyers make such a huge difference. It should be reconstructed, that a beginner lawyer could easily win against the best lawyer if the evidence is on their side.

[@AstroCreep0341]

Who in their right mind would ever surrender themselves to the legal system?

[@Dr_Oinkles]

People with a lotttttt of money

[@Regelos]

I always forget (what I think is a very very good point) the fact that the government side of a trial basically can spend whatever they want, and in any trial the most money usually wins.

[@chainsawsubtlety9828]

America ceased being the "Land of the Free" a long time ago.

[@TheSpicyLeg]

I prefer to call it “dumb fuck”. More accurate imo than America.

[@MrEdrftgyuji]

The sad thing is, it still is a lot more free than other developed countries.

[@chainsawsubtlety9828]

@@MrEdrftgyuji No disagreement here.

[@woodonfire7406]

I don't think there's one nation on Earth that is truly free

[@chainsawsubtlety9828]

@@woodonfire7406 No, probably not.

[@DWalter.27]

Released during the same week as the Ruby Ridge incident occurred; very fitting! Also appropriately spicy, well done.

[@Zordiak]

1. Write vague laws that are easily broken 2. Selectively enforce laws Do these 2 things and you have a weapon

[@bobross8569]

As i have said for many years,call it the U.S. legal system,there hasn't been any real justice for quite some time.

[@settame1]

Lawtube has done good exposing corruption on local levels. World wide there are people campaigning against a random DA in Kenosha county (the same one who prosecuted Kyle has at least 2 other cases as bad as Kyle which have now been highlighted and unfortunately they got convicted).

[@draketheduelist]

The DA who prosecuted Kyle? You don't mean ol' Call of Duty: Moron Warfare, do you? The one who pointed an AR at the jury?

[@magnusprime962]

@@draketheduelistHe wasn’t the DA.

[@djinsanity3575]

And this is why Florida man is such a treat

[@itacticlesnowman726]

Love you. Keep producing these!

[@atdforgebc4605]

Also the family courts are so corrupt they need to be abolished

[@technicalspaghetti2560]

one comment in 8 years? seriously?

[@joshuachase9742]

I went to a seminar not too long ago where the presenter told us that we don't have a justice system; we have a legal system. That distinction has stuck in my mind ever since.

[@DRAKKENFIRE22]

In addition, “hate crime” laws create another tier of “justice”. If you are not gay, black (or a non-European ethnic group), or a woman; your case and sentencing will be more strict.

[@mindofthecosmos9674]

I'm not surprised considering this is usually the type of legal system you'd find within the confines of a dystopian society.

[@ovid6076]

"The Justice system is full of riggers" -Seamus

[@user-lr8ow2jg4e]

that should be the jail

[@reirei135]

Quick reminder, if you're asked to "come down to the station and answer some questions" Please don't talk to the cops without an attorney present. Innocent people go to prison all the time, and because of the deficiencies in the "Justice System" even if you're innocent, you're likely to get arrested for something you didn't do. It makes the cops look good to get an arrest, it makes the judge look good, and often the evidence won't come out till years later

[@arspsychologia4401]

Very useful. How would someone go about fixing a problem like this so the incentives are properly aligned?

[@bvoyelr]

I wrote elsewhere that everybody in the justice system should be a public employee, paid a salary, with no commission. Lawyers on both sides included. And expert witnesses and investigations should be publicly funded as well. Not sure what else would have to change to make this work, but I feel like it's probably worth it. A constitutional right (trial by jury) shouldn't cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

[@inkySaccharine]

There's really nothing to be done. Our current system has been manipulated and loopholed to death with added clauses and laws to the original constitution. The fact that the government can threaten you into signing away your rights, and in some cases literally force you to should be enough proof that it's not the system, it's the people who've been seated in the system. The only way forward from here without bloodshed is to elect traditionally morally virtuous individuals who beleive in the precepts of this country to positions of power so that they can weed out and fight against the evil that has taken root in our government.

[@jimmydesouza4375]

"How would someone go about fixing a problem like this so the incentives are properly aligned?" It's legitimately not something that can be fixed. The two major causes of this problem are human corruptibility, which is unavoidable in any system staffed or created by humans, and power inequality between state and individual, which is both unavoidable and also what justice systems are actually based on (as a justice system can't work if the state doesn't have superior authority and resources to the individuals it is supposed to apply justice to).

[@Richforce1]

We don't need to, "Vengeance is mine, thus sayeth The Lord." We need to rely on God for justice, not the state.

[@arspsychologia4401]

@@Richforce1 So there would be no crimes? All enforcement of good behavior would come from divine punishment? Something feasible please.

[@Kiarean]

Reminds me of someone I knew growing up. He decided to snatch a purse. Unfortunately the old lady who got hurt in the process was I think either the police chief or DA's mother, so he got the book thrown at him, and when he got out they continued harassing him. They basically forced him to leave town to be able to live in peace.

[@krashanb5767]

Good

[@docstew75]

Dialing back prosecutorial discretion could make a big dent in the two (or three) tiered justice system. DAs should be required to always prosecute felonies and crimes where another person is injured or suffers loss of property, or state on a case-by-case basis what fact of the case justifies not prosecuting. If a crime isn't important enough to enforce on everyone, it shouldn't be a felony.

[@ethanmx2]

0:47 - Unless your name is George Gascon, then it's how many bad guys you let go free! I swear, Gascon is the "Dangerous" Danny Davis of district attorneys...

[@scurvofpcp]

If you are charged you have better have 20k to burn. Many people don't have that, in fact most don't. And you can ask anyone how their public defender did for them.

[@alwallace4538]

Gotta love mandatory minimums. In 1978 a guy I knew in HS was convicted of dealing. The judge gave him the option of three years in prison or four in the Marines. He took the latter. A few years later I saw him he had his own company. Wonder what would have happened the judge had to sentence him to prison.

[@TheBcoolGuy]

"Oh, but you need the courts, and 'justice' system to keep you safe!"

[@CatholicDragoon]

This is textbook Anarcho-Tyranny explained in two minutes. I would also like to add that thanks to all of those cop shows people have been trained to believe that all of cheap tricks and relentless hammering is actually good cause it's in pursuit of justice.

[@somewinner8229]

I wonder why the Justice Department doesn't look into who actually killed Jeff.... oh wait 😂

[@HoneyBerighthere-Saysarath]

You have to seek revenge without the Government. This is a Unspoken Law.

[@javierhenriquez7927]

Remember the old saying "justice is blind" Is horribly true

[@MrX3rt]

Im never going to get over turkey dog in the painting in the background.😂

[@ravenlorans]

I had to go to Court. My Public Defender did Nothing. Charged with a Misdemeanor and Served time for a Felony. Judge and Prosecutor Both up for Reelection. 1yrs later while Serving my time ( I was Innocent! ) found out my PD was up on Charges of his own. Embezzlement and ALL Of His Clients Went to Jail! Found Murdered or Suicide Face Down in the High School Pool.

[@JBennett-b6o]

Simple and to the point. And 100% true. Thank you for articulating this so accurately. So what can we do about it ? Is there an organization or someone leading the cause ?

[@jackhhun2698]

this used to be a left wing issue not long ago now they never bring it up

[@jthemagicrobot3960]

You should look in to the trials done by Stalin and Castro before you say that

[@roghider319]

We actually do. A lot. It's one of the first things any leftist wants to end

[@benjirabbe1205]

​@@jthemagicrobot3960- you know what they say about assuming, it makes an ASS of U and ME.

[@5APPH_13]

@@roghider319 Yeaaaaa, but then Trump stops getting followed by the justice system like a lost puppy. And the left would hate that wouldn't they?

[@mobiusone6994]

So Trump should have all charges dropped and be issued a public apology from the sitting US pResident then, right@@roghider319?

[@LibertarianEnt]

Thank you for calling it out in a calm and collected manner in a way the, admittedly nowadays poorly educated, average American can understand. Gonna be sharing this around work with some of the more state friendly people.

[@handimanjay6642]

Our three letter agencies need a serious cleaning.

[@thelegoyousteppedon]

Gator out here becoming a lawyer

[@thelegoyousteppedon]

Turkey dog!!!!!!?

[@flemishgiantrabbitlove2869]

Bro Florida mans big chilling

[@bvoyelr]

I'm a staunch conservative -- borderline libertarian. Despite that, I think the entire justice industry should be socialized. Everyone in the justice system needs to be paid a government salary. I honestly don't know how much we'll have to jigger with the rest of the system to make this work, but the fact that it costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to litigate a trial seems like it's gotta be unconstitutional.

[@jimmydesouza4375]

Are you a crack addict? The entire problem with the justice industry IS that it is socialised and that political corruption has broken it, like it does with anything that is socialised. The problem of little people not having the resources to oppose the establishment, which seems to be what your absolutely smooth take is trying to fix, is something that can't be fixed.

[@segevstormlord3713]

IT is, in the sense that everyone is entitled to an attorney, and one IS provided even if they can't afford one. The problem is that these attorneys are motivated, at most, by their own ethics to do their job well, and are often not the best of the best and certainly are at least wishing they could take a higher-paying client than the small government wage for a public defender. What you really want is to see about strengthening and expanding the number of pro-bono charitable services that provide attorneys. These services either have attorneys they offer for free, or have funding they use to hire attorneys on behalf of people who can't afford them, and are generally supported by donations from people who believe in whatever cause they're supporting with their choices of beneficiaries (sometimes it's civil rights in general, sometimes they go in for specific crime types, like drug offenses, sometimes they are motivated to specifically seek out cases where they believe justice was NOT served by the conviction of someone they believe specifically to be innocent, etc.).

[@GossAug]

I think the reason it is 100% public is why it costs so much.

[@wikwayer]

Guilty until proven wealthy 😇

[@cpnbd]

Yep this is so. accurate. Husband was forced to take a plea deal, literally his own lawyers yelled at him. We paid them 90 grand to walk him into prison. Federal court has so many rules that you arent allowed to bring anything up that could exonerate you, even if someone is trying to frame you. And that fact that someone can get an average of 10-20 years with mandatory minimums based on photos is crazy.

[@thewelder5716]

Two tiered? More like four tiered. Two for politicians and two for the little guy

[@spaceracer23]

That said, Ron should never leave prison.

[@rothbardfreedom]

Economics 101: The result of any monopoly is increasing costs and decreasing value. It's about time to separate justice from the state, let the people solve conflicts effectively and efficiently through the learning mechanism of markets.

[@shadowsa2b]

"...the wrong things florida man woulda done did..." Power corrupts

[@AzraelThanatos]

Seamus, you really need an episode on Criminal Asset Forfeiture...

[@Eluderatnight]

You get as much justice as you can afford.

[@noticedruid4985]

The Justice system is no longer held accountable.

[@londeaux]

Local government don't necessarily have the money to pursue cases against those who have more money.

[@Deathnotefan97]

Not even mentioning that prosecutors are more often than not paid _vastly_ more than public defenders And there are usually more prosecutors than defenders, so the defenders are overworked and the prosecutors aren’t

[@strangelyukrainian7314]

Fun fact, the origin of plea deals was originally meant to scare black defendants into confessing guilty so that southern states could have plantation owners pay the fine of a black man in exchange for a labor contract that was basically equivalent to slavery. This occurred from the early 1900s until up to 1942. The whole concept of plea bargaining has been coercive since it began to be used as a widespread tactic of those who would prefer to use forced labor. Of all the crimes that could be used to charge a black man, the most common category was “not given”. Meaning they didn’t even bother writing down what they were guilty of. End plea bargaining and mandatory minimums, they are grossly unconstitutional, as they violate our right to a fair trial and our right to not be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment.

[@roflchopter11]

Source?

[@strangelyukrainian7314]

@@roflchopter11 Absolutely, I got this information from the KZbin channel “Knowing Better”, from his KZbin video “The part of history you’ve always skipped | Neoslavery”. The video itself is rather long, but it’s highly informative, though if you don’t have a huge amount of time, this particular topic was mentioned at the timestamp, 40 minutes and 15 seconds, during which he discusses convict leasing, at 46 minutes and 35 seconds and a direct quote from a department of Justice investigator. Sorry the time stamps aren’t formatted more properly, KZbin didn’t like them written out normally

[@silverhawkscape2677]

​@@strangelyukrainian7314An Actual Source not some random KZbinr.

[@silverhawkscape2677]

We have Minimums because You'd have judeges abusing there power to give slap on the wrist punishments for their allies.

[@strangelyukrainian7314]

@@silverhawkscape2677 The video in question is an hour long and cites dozens of sources, Knowing Better, is a legitimate tertiary source. I mean, we say that articles and news reporting is sources, why is this not a legitimate source? If you don’t like it, you can check the sources he compiled, or even just watch the video, he cites them all throughout the course of the video

[@felixhaberbosch6765]

The problem with the justice system is that it is overwhealmed. Plea Deals are nessicary unfortunatly to keep the System going. They are totally bad and mandatory minimums should be abolished but fixing plea Deals would require a greater change to the whole justice System that is unrealistic in the current political climate that is soley focussed on imedeate results and not longlasting change. Also going after the little guy who can only afford the lawyers assingned to them by the courts is easier than going after people who can afford the best lawyers money can buy

[@derkatwork33]

The dog wearing a turkey costume will never not be funny.

[@kyanhluong]

"It beautiful, we don't even need to win, we only need them to be bled dry"

[@ethanwild3301]

as someone who has first-hand experience with this chaos, I agree

[@joelmartin2549]

It also doesn’t help that many of our laws are purposely vague in addition to selectively enforced, designed that way to be used purposely as a cudgel against the ruling party’s enemies.

[@Ryanbmc4]

I really appreciate the recurring turkey dog joke.

[@ctv186]

So, what dark things are going on in Florida man's head?

[@coryhorton5837]

It’s not about which laws are on the books, it’s which are enforced.

[@iama2427]

Well our judicial system needs reform it favors the strong not the weak.

[@TheSpicyLeg]

That’s one of the best ways we can harm the legal system, though. Convince anyone who is charged with a crime to go to trial. The legal system can only operate as it does because the expensive courts are so often skipped in favor of plea deals. Not to mention the plea deal has become so ubiquitous that prosecutors stack on charges with little or no merit because it bullies the accused into making a deal. You can already see where the elites want the legal system to go. People with wealth but not so much that they have friends within the system are accused, immediately bailed via cash, and bullied into a plea so the state can extract wealth. Both the poor (no wealth to acquire, requires wealth to imprison) and very rich (power and privilege) are let free, and those that are accused don’t need expensive courts or prisons, making it cheaper for the state.

[@williamturner6192]

Thank you!

[@kevinclause4p55p5]

Uncle Sam has unlimited money, and is currently stealing from the defense.

[@axiezimmah]

A democracy without justice is not a democracy