Point of Law

Happy Tuesday! I hope you are doing well. I thought I would share a little about my six-month term on a grand jury. We finish up the last cases we will hear tomorrow, so it’s a perfect opportunity for me to reflect on the point of law.

Initially, I was bummed that I would have to devote this amount of time, but I am grateful that the cards fell as they did. This experience has been great in terms of understanding our laws, the chance to see how they work, and what goes on in the detail of a case. If you are ever chosen, do it. It is an experience that I believe every American citizen should experience at least once.

In saying all of that, it has prompted me to ask the question, what is the point of the law? I believe the original intention was to make sure that our world has peace and order. A safe place where we can all live our lives and pursue our purpose.

It has also occurred to me that the fact we created laws means something somewhere was starting to get out of hand and a group of legal minded folks got together and decided to put something down on paper to live by.

It is my experience that these kinds of things need a certain fluidity. Along with full transparency, the agreement that laws will require updates and a review as time and societal needs change.

Over the past six months of my grand jury service, here are some things I observed, both about the law and it’s citizens.

Citizens:  Commit these key points to memory and feel free to pass along:

1. Know the basic laws of your state and then follow them.
2. If you do drugs or drink alcohol, just stay home. Do not pass go, do not drive, do not take your booze and drugs or paraphernalia with you – stay home.
3. If you own a gun, leave it at home. Do not take it to a party or put it in your vehicle, especially if you have anything mentioned in point number 2 on your person or in your vehicle.
4. If you have ignored points 1-3, find a person of wisdom – a clergyman and/or a therapist and ask how to develop common sense and good life choices.
5. Realize there are good law enforcement men, women, and attorneys. Many risk their lives to protect us from people who choose to live by points 2-3. They also spend a lot of time trying to make sure no one is charged falsely and/or they have as many facts as possible so a citizen has a fair trial.

Legal System:  For your consideration:

1. If a person has drug and/or alcohol issues, they need mental health recovery and not a jail cell. Instead of sending a person to jail, send them to a rehab facility where they stay until they have sufficiently made advances in their recovery as their sentence. Note: it will take longer then 30 days to make any progress. Sitting in a jail cell merely exacerbates the issue.
2. Make sure law enforcement candidates are stellar. Perform mental health evaluations as a part of the training process. Do they have compassion and empathy? Do they want to help people? Is this merely a paycheck or an ego stroke? Once working, if they exhibit characteristics not conducive to someone the public can trust, pull them off duty and require further training and counseling. If the public does not trust your law enforcement, you should be asking why.
3. Stop racial profiling. Not all minorities are criminals, just like all law enforcement are not crooked. Be transparent and the public will regain their trust in you.
4. Revise laws that are outdated and/or severely penalizing beyond a reasonable measure.
5. Stop using incarceration as a tool for monetary gain.

That’s a lot, I know. As I stated earlier, this experience has been very positive. Sure, I had to hear some really tough cases, but overall, I have a better understanding of the system. If administered properly, it works. The laws that need a revision should be evident by those administering them. We can only hope to elect and train people that are interested in providing fair and humane treatment for everyone. I suggest we start with empathy and proceed from there.