The circle is complete.

Sometimes you can view a case that appears to be overwhelming.What other explanation can there be for the situation other than the guilt of the accused. The danger with the present system we run is that people cannot afford to represent themselves properly in Court. The investigation and prosecution system in New Zealand and the Prison system for that matter has become corporatized to such a high degree that the individual in society is simply overwhelmed and defenceless  in the face of the complete resources at the disposal of the Crown. These resources are not just the investigation and prosecution resources but also control of the media. In the opposite camp the resources devoted to funding the defence of people are meagre and deliberately so. The last thing the government wants is for one of its corporate departments to wreck the work carried out by another of its departments. So unless you are rich you are at the mercy of the Court system. A system that is so cynical in its view of the individual that people are presumed to be guilty by all those people within  the system. After all their salary is being paid. This corporatization is reaching its zenith with private prisons and the creation of a Public Defenders Office. All functions are now within the realm of one corporate entity. This is a very worrying development from a constitutional point of view as all sectors of the Court system are now controlled by the executive. There is now no longer any separation of powers in the Court room itself. When Defence Counsel themselves are employed and controlled by the executive branch of government i.e. they are state servants the circle is complete. You can readily understand the prosecution being employed  by the executive afterall they are representing the government. But when the defence bar is employed by the executive who are they representing. Are they representing the defendant or are they representing the executive. When the chips are down and the hard unpopular decisions have to be made who does a state servant owe allegiance to. The state of course how could it be any other way. Its interesting to note that practically all the senior lawyers in the PDS are drawn from a state background. I know you dont have time to be worried about all this. You have your everyday life to lead. So thats why I thought you might be interested in a post that presents the argument. I would be interested to hear your views. Have a great day.

Comments

  1. Maua Faleauto6:59 PM

    The same attitude is revealed in the Law Reports as only those cases which support the State line make it into the reports-inconvenient common law lies on the files of lawyers who achieved inconvenient results.

    Inconvenient argument in the law courts is often completely ignored and no written record is made.

    This hegemony corrodes the very fabric of our society.

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