Letters from North
America
As
I get older or more
mature, I often wonder
about things I know I
have no control over,
but still wish I could
get resolved before I
leave this old planet.
Among these items is…
how is the best way to
put judges on the bench?
In some states they are
all appointed and in
others they are elected
and in still others it’s
a combination of the
two. I can see
advantages and
disadvantages to all
three options. If they
are appointed, then the
person or group doing
the appointments have an
advantage over the
members of the court.
This has certainly been
used unfairly many times
in the past.
The election of judges
also carries some bad
elements since elections
cost money and those
running for office often
solicit contributions
from the very persons or
firms who would practice
before them. Obviously
elected judges who
received campaign
contributions from one
source or another would
choose to say that the
contributions they
received would have no
effect upon their
decisions. But who knows
if they do or they
don’t? History is
replete with instances
of strange court
decisions which have
come into question but
for the most part never
really resolved.
I am a history fanatic
and love to read
historical fiction
books. I’m reading a
series now about a
lawyer during the time
of King Henry VIII. This
attorney gets involved
in various mysteries and
murders which make for
good reading. The
interesting part is the
authors description of
how much infighting and
political intrigue was
going on among those
closest to the King. It
was a dangerous time to
live in and your words,
spoken to the wrong
people could result in
having your head chopped
off, or worse. The King
was heavily influenced
by those around him and
justice wasn’t always
served in equal portions
to all parties. Nothing
really changes from our
present day, does it?
Every day seems to bring
us news of some new
catastrophe or another
which, for the most
part, can be traced to
someone’s greed. Take
the Madoff scandal last
year. A large number of
people have lost their
entire fortunes as a
result of this man. If
you go back and examine
the causes you will find
that these investors
were looking for above
average returns on their
money. In most
instances, their
judgment was clouded
over by their own greed.
Any time something seems
to be too good to be
true, it usually is. You
would think the people
who have the kind of
money Madoff required
would have been more
astute in their
investment practices,
but perhaps not.
I tend to get weary of
reading or hearing about
various corrupt
officials or persons
placed in positions of
trust as they are found
out to be involved in
frauds and thefts. I
think it was Diogenes
who went around holding
up a lamp and looking
for ‘an honest man’ in
about 400BC. If he
couldn’t find one then,
why should we expect to
do so today? Our modern
day affinity for the
media allows us to keep
up with the trials and
tribulations of our
society as it is
happening in real time.
And yet we still see
doctored resumes,
insider deals, corrupt
court decisions and
unexplainable events
taking place on a
regular basis. There is
so much being reported
it is hard to keep track
of it all.
In truth, some of the
corruption in our
society is so
overwhelming that those
who are deemed guilty
are let off without any
penalty of any sort,
just a mental stain
whenever their names are
brought to mind.
Sometimes not even that.
Their offenses are
removed and forgotten
allowing them to carry
on for another day. It
seems as if we have
progressed as a society
to the point where we
almost expect failure
and corruption from
those we choose to lead
us or administer us as a
nation. Infidelity,
theft and unjust
practices seem to be the
order of the day rather
than an isolated
instance.
The old adage espoused
by many of those who
happen to get caught
seems to be one we all
used in elementary
school… ‘everyone else
is doing it…why can’t
I?’ But do we continue
to accept this type of
behavior or do we stop
this downward trend and
demand more from all
levels of government?
We are just over 120
days until the coming
elections. I would hope
each of us starts now to
examine those seeking
office and reviewing
whether or not
would have considered
them as worthy of his
investigation.
Comments got to
www.pearyperry.com.
Complaints go nowhere.
