Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

Juries have been eliminated in the US justice system. 94% of all criminal cases at the federal level are settled by a plea (as of 2001).

So when will you jury nullify? Most defendants won't stand before their peers, won't face a judge beyond cursory rubber stamping, and won't get good representation (public defender funding is cut year upon year, some public defenders take on over 500 cases a year now).

The US justice system is utterly broken, beyond repair. It is a revenge system (not rehabilitation), with little justice to be had except of the wealthy (who will get off scott free), overly politicized, overly money orientated (e.g. spend a year in jail unless you have $100K), and has purposely high maximum sentences to force even innocent people to take a plea (which they often do [0]).

I can think of few other countries which has a criminal justice system as bad as the US, and unfortunately when I start naming them they're not really the type of states the US wants to be associated with.

[0] http://www.fhsulaw.com/Legal-Articles/Plea-Bargain-Sentences...



Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: