The Journals of Justus Agenstum: A Journey Thru The Judicial System #1

Have you ever had the misfortune of being on the wrong side of the law? Have you ever been charged with a crime, misdemeanor or felony, and been dragged through the current criminal justice system? Have you ever been offered a "plea bargain," or "plea agreement," by the Prosecuting Attorney's office before your case is scheduled for trial? Have you ever plead "not guilty," and had your case go to trial? Well, after reading this article, your view of the justice system might just change for the better.

You see, unbeknownst to the masses, our current justice system, although corrupt to the core, is also positioned to provide us with the absolute epitome of fairness if we educate ourselves about it, learn what it has to offer, and use those mechanisms to our advantage. In fact, perhaps one of the best ways to reduce your chances of ending up in prison, is to take your case to trial.

First things first, let's take a quick look at why most people do not realize they have these tools to prevent tyranny at their fingertips. Through a massive re-education program, the ruling elite class of the US federal government was able to dictate what was permissible in the public education system. From there, it was fairly easy to begin manipulating infrastructures to suit their needs; for if the people remain unaware of the rights and tools that are Constitutionally afforded to them, then what's to stop the ruling elite from remaining in power?

Now, let's take a few moments to consider the process of being charged with a criminal offense. It is assumed that the individual has been arrested for a "crime," as it applies to offenses for which sentencing could include jail/prison time. Shortly after the initial arrest the suspect will be provided the opportunity to either make bail, or speak with a lawyer (misdemeanors usually offer bail, felonies normally need a lawyer to request bail). Regardless of whether or not bail is granted, the next step of the judicial process involves the suspect and their lawyer discussing details and options. A court date will be established, at which time the formal charges will be brought by the state. Somewhere in between the bail hearing and this court date the prosecuting attorney for the county/state will approach the defense lawyer with a "plea bargain," especially if the case involves a misdemeanor.

Why does this happen? The truth of the matter is really quite simple; the courts do not want to be bothered with actually doing their jobs. They also do not want cases to go to trial because there is a 50/50 chance a jury will find the suspect "not guilty," which realistically amounts to an abhorrent waste of taxpayer money. It is therefore in the best interest of the prosecuting attorney's office, and the courts' interests, to forego jury trials in favor of convictions for lesser offenses. They really do not care what the suspect pleads "guilty" to, so long as they receive an easy conviction.

An easy conviction does a couple of things for the judicial system. It brings in easy money in the form of legalized extortion rackets, more commonly referred to as "fines & fees." An easy conviction also pads statistics for the entire judicial system, thereby allowing judges and prosecuting attorneys the ability to showcase their track records come re-election.

They realize that more than 90% of US citizens are completely oblivious to the way the "system works." This allows them to position conviction rates as the personal success stories of their careers when running for office again. The sad fact of the matter is, they are right! Uneducated US citizens do not understand where those statistics come from, they see high conviction rates and they relate this with successfully fulfilling the duties of the position.

Plea bargains also serve the interest of defense lawyers in that they provide the attorney an early exit strategy for "meaningless" cases; what do they care? They still get paid, they free up time to work on more important cases, and they can manipulate statistics to favorably show how many cases they are able to plea bargain down to lesser charges; again, seen as being successful by potential clients who falsely believe they want to accept "lesser" charges in favor of reducing potential jail time.

Stay tuned for The Journals of Justus Agenstum: A Journey Thru The Judicial System #2, where we will take a deeper look into why a jury trial is a good idea for most people charged with a criminal offense.