How To Crash the US Justice System: Demand a Trial 28

[gremlin]

this mite be worth a look.


The U.S. Bill of Rights guarantees the accused basic safeguards, including a fair and speedy jury trial, but in this era of mass incarceration — when our nation's prison population has quintupled in a few decades — these rights are, for the overwhelming majority of people hauled into courtrooms across America, theoretical. More than 90 percent of criminal cases are never tried before a jury, in part because the Supreme Court ruled in 1978 that threatening someone with life imprisonment for a minor crime in an effort to induce him to forfeit a jury trial did not violate his Sixth Amendment right to trial. 'The truth is that government officials have deliberately engineered the system to assure that the jury trial system established by the Constitution is seldom used,' says Timothy Lynch, director of the criminal justice project at the libertarian Cato Institute. Now Susan Burton, head of 'A New Way of Life' (PDF), is helping to start a movement to demand restoration of Americans' basic civil and human rights by asking people who have been charged with crimes to reject plea bargains, and press for trial. 'Can we crash the system just by exercising our rights?' Burton says if everyone charged with crimes suddenly exercised his constitutional rights, there would not be enough judges, lawyers or prison cells to deal with the ensuing tsunami of litigation."
http://yro.slashdot.org/story/12/03/12/ ... t=My+Yahoo

[russau]

i hope,personaly, that it never gets to that point for me or my family and friends! but years back, i pleaded NOT GUILTY to a speeding ticket from the Missouri State Patroll 2 times and beat both of them! and no i wasnt speeding either, that time! those lawyers/prosecutors can be very intimadating!

[Hoser John]

What a hoot-this scam hit kalif years ago(1998)-don't sign the ticket for traffic offenses-demand to see the magistrate. Rights cons made a fortune off phoney baloney seminars and ALL WENT TO JAIL FOR NON COMPLIANCE. Old old scam to mt pockets,buy books,cds and go to jail-bummer-thought this had finally died out--John

[russau]

yep, failure to sig the ticket means go directly to jail! all a ticket/citation is, is saying that youll appear in court. it is a courtesy that is extended to you in all states,but the officer has the right to not offer it to you and take you to jail on the spot!

[gremlin]

had a cop try to wright me up a nice speeding ticket once. when it got to the part ware he told me he could take me to jail because i did not want to sign. i told him go a head and have the ambulance there when we arrived. thats when he finally looked and seen the red coming from my hand and the bandages we were one block from the hospitle. made him mad as heck. told me to get to the hospitle. if we would of had cell phones back then i would of been on the 911 tape. told him he could give me a ticket when i was in side the hospitle, yes i was speeding. because i need a doctor quick.

[Reno badboy]

Being the Ex-Biker here, You absolutely never refuse to sign a ticket!! They can charge you with lots of other things besides the offence!!! Including terrisom! Once you go to court you then demand a jury trial! I had so many charges dropped by saying that, because they don't want to waste time knowing they'd likely loose. Been in front of a few "Grand Jurys" also because of "associations". These are a real joke!! Most times people were sound asleep or goofing around doing other things. Don't play their games!!!

[russau]

i agree with Reno! demand your rights,but make sure your in the right tobegin with!