From: Jasper
Date: 8/17/01
Time: 6:48:05 PM
Jolana,
You presented your case so well in your first post that there was nothing I could add to it or take away from it. So, I decided to follow your lead and make another point about the Grand Jury that should be but isn't widely known. The bottom line is this: The entire criminal justice system in the United States is way out of wack.
Law is one thing. The practice of law is something else. No matter what the law says, if police and prosecutors choose to ignore it and the court says it's OK, it's OK. The court has permitted "little" changes in the practice of law regarding the Grand Jury over the years that what we see now has become the "custom" of law. Custom equals practical application. Unless the Supreme Court rules otherwise the custom of law (legal presidents) are all that matter. That's why you need a lawyer to defend yourself. If you don't know the legal presidents you don't know what legal rights you REALLY have.
Our legal rights are being taken away a little at a time on all fronts. That's why the O.J. case is so important - the legal presidents that were established in THAT CASE that take away the rights of everyone. --Jasper