So how do I propose to solve the problem of innocent people being convicted? This is such a complicated issue that no simple solution presents itself. A complicated problem doesn’t necessarily require a complicated solution. But this one has so many contributing causes that the solution will have to address each one.
Of course, the first step to solving the problem is to recognize the cause. Therefore, I urge everyone to read yesterday’s screed delivered from this Soapbox. Research the problems I listed in that article, then, when you have a grasp of the magnitude of the problem, come back and consider my proposals.
My first proposal is to establish in every criminal venue an agency whose only job is to try to debunk every criminal case in which the accused pleads not guilty. This agency will be manned by trained investigators who are overseen by an experienced investigator or a lawyer who has defended criminal cases for at least five years. All of the personnel in these agencies should be heavily steeped in forensic techniques and the latest science behind them.
The defense investigators would pass on their findings to both the District Attorneys and the defense counsel. The DAs will use the information to help decide weather to drop all charges or continue to prosecute the case. And the defense counsel will have as many resources as the state for preparing his/her case. As it stands today, only a very wealthy defendant will have the resources of the state to defend himself. This is why most innocent people who get convicted of other peoples crimes are indigent at the time of trial, and those who hire their own attorneys only have enough money to get the minimum of defense.
My second proposal will meet with much resistance from the law enforcement community. I propose a separate agency, not a part of the police forces, to investigate all public complaints against law enforcement officers, and to make and keep public the outcome of all of these investigations. It is an old proverb that an agency that polices itself has no one policing it. The many instances of police departments excusing the obviously egregious acts of their officers demonstrates the need for this one. I predict the vast majority of complaints will be resolved in a way that is amenable to both parties. But the few bad apples will be completely removed from the barrel, instead of merely shuffled out of sight.
The third proposal will not go over with many voters. Most people like the way their DAs pander to their fears and are happy to vote for a lawyer who would not hesitate to do anything for a conviction. That is the reason that district attorneys, and maybe even judges, ought to be removed from the political process. The pressure to get reelected is the driving force to convict when there is a question of the guilt of the defendant. I am not even going to touch on the bigger problem of racism in the justice system. But depoliticizing the office of DA will go a long way toward eliminating racism too.
Fourth, give the trier of fact in a criminal case, usually the jury, but sometimes the judge, the power to question and demand the presentation of evidence in a trial. Too often the jury has questions that are never even addressed, let alone resolved, when they are required to render a verdict. In the Napoleonic system found in Europe and parts of America south of the Rio Grande, this is the case. While there are still cases of egregious error in a conviction under such a system, when the trier of fact has the power to demand evidence be presented fewer people get railroaded by the attorneys.
My fifth proposal is to put some sort of penalty in place for attorneys who violate the law in carrying out their duties. As it now stands, the courts have granted themselves total immunity from any consequence of their misdeeds in the course of their duties. The lawyers love to quote the adage that, “No one is above the law.” Yet the reality is that they have effectively placed themselves above the law in their jobs.
I don’t hold the illusion that these proposals are perfect, nor that they will all be implemented. But it is my hop to start people thinking and begin a public debate. Comment on the blog if you have any thoughts on these or other proposals to solve the problem of innocent getting convicted.
No comments:
Post a Comment