"Would it surprise you, that is, to learn that people who claim to be victims sometimes don't turn out to be victims at all, and that many victims have rap-sheets as long as their offenders, motives to lie or distort, and involvement in the criminal cases they report to the police well beyond that of an innocent bystander?"
"Yes?"
"Then stop watching Law & Order."
And further down the page:
"5. Most police officers do not hate defense attorneys. Likewise, most prosecutors do not hate defense attorneys. Like judges, police officers and prosecutors understand that defense attorneys are an ineluctable part of the criminal justice system, and the American system of democracy would fall apart tomorrow without them. Many police officers and prosecutors even admire defense attorneys for the difficulty of the work they do, and regret inadequate understanding of the importance of that work amongst the general public. The television show Law & Order has done more to knowingly lie to the American people about defense attorneys and what they do, and about the criminal justice system and how it actually operates, than any show in the history of American television. Law & Order accurately depicts the criminal justice system in the same way Hitler actually depicts the sensibilities of the average Berlin resident in 2005."
Actually, the legal posts are inciteful. [addendum: er . . . that oughta say insightful]
BTW, I got there from Alaskablawg.
3 comments:
Hi Ken.
So: insightful "good," or inciteful "bad"?
Just kidding.
I think if folks read the whole thing they'll agree it is (for the most part) incredibly measured, even temperate, especially given all the injustices in the system to be something less-than-measured and not a little bit intemperate about.
Excepting from that measured temperance, of course, "Law & Order"--which show is an unmitigated and routinely disingenuous disaster, as I think the blog entry you cite more than establishes as my strong, vituperative, and unwavering opinion (and yet nothing more than an opinion, of course).
Seth
It is a pity that "inciteful" is not a word. It and its homonym "insightful" make quite a pair.
Ack!! Now ya'll expect me to spell correctly too?
The strange thing is that I ran spellcheck and it didn't catch it.
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