A judge's union? That could be part of the problem.
And as for judicial pageantry, the French take the cake (as Marie Antoinette might have said) on that one!
Posted on 05/29/2011 7:49:55 PM PDT by Cincinna
The sexual assault case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn, which continues to crowd out much other news here, is becoming something of a civics lesson in American justice — one that has inspired both biting criticism and some respect.
Legal experts say much of the consternation here over what many consider rough treatment in the news media and the courts is rooted in a general unfamiliarity with an American justice system that differs profoundly — in procedure, tone and philosophy — from the French model.
“There is an aspect of pageantry that we don’t have in our country,” said Judge Marie-Blanche Régnier, who is national secretary of a French magistrates trade union.
While the American justice system has its origins in British common law and involves ordinary citizens at almost every level, the French judicial system is rooted in the Napoleonic Code and is largely conducted behind closed doors. Suspects are typically ushered into courthouses through discreet side entrances, out of view of the public.
State-appointed magistrates prosecute and pass judgment in most trials without the oversight of citizen jurors, who serve only in the most serious cases. In such cases, formal charges come — if they come — only after a lengthy inquest by an investigating judge, who collects evidence on behalf of both the prosecution and defense before determining if a trial is warranted.
And in further contrast to the American system, investigating magistrates are legally bound to secrecy during an inquest.
All too often, critics say, the French system allows cases against well-known people to go nowhere or result in reduced charges without explanation. “For the powerful,” Judge Régnier said, “there is a treatment that can be different.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
“For the powerful,” Judge Régnier said, “there is a treatment that can be different.”
So much for “Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity.”
There is more than an echo from the feudalist past, which I had hoped would be far less than the facts and appearances now warrant.
Cheers for the American circus!
You’ll be surprised how many here will agree with the NY Slimes.
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Interesting comparison of French Law derived from Napoleonic Code of 1803 & American Law, based on English Common Law.
Our system of Justice, with its imperfections, is
more just, fair, and equitable, than any other.
DSK will have his day in court, and get a fair trial in NY.
And the world will have a front row seat to witness in open court, not behind closed doors, exactly how our justice system works.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24a-Qb327ok
Very true! This episode shines the bright light of truth on the ugly dark side of French justice, or lack thereof.
It is also out chance to show the French, and the rest of the smug elites who love to trash our justice system, just how it really works, and how, in most cases, justice will be done.
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NYT, like a broken clock ........
Most of the circus is being created by thr huge numbers of French, but also reporters
& staff from all over the world who have descended upon NY to get their story.
They think the pictures of DSK were shocking! A violation of his human rights (sic) & dignity. If they were so shocking, why were they splashed across the front page of every paper & magazine in France?
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I don't think that is an artifact of feudalism. I think it is an artifact of socialism. Every socialist society that has ever existed developed a privileged "nomenclatura".
They have no place lecturing us about "justice."
The “deliberate destruction” of Mr. Strauss-Kahn would probably be a “very winning” electoral strategy, Robert Badinter, a Socialist senator and former justice minister, said on France Inter radio.
LOL - So convicting criminals could be a winning electoral strategy for an elected prosecutor. Wow! That was deep.
A judge's union? That could be part of the problem.
And as for judicial pageantry, the French take the cake (as Marie Antoinette might have said) on that one!
Or that feudalism (and its view of rank, aristocracy, etc.) morphed into socialism. There was the concept of “noble obligation” of lord to peasant which mirrors the elite’s current claim to be working with the interests of “the common man” at heart.
As the French say, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”
I think it is both. The Napoleonic Code of 1803 is not an accusatory system, but an inquisitional system.
The difference is between an Anglo-Saxon system based on common law and an elitist Statist system that hasn’t changed that much since l’Ancien Regime. “troussage de domestique” “droit de cuissage” indeed! Remnants of the AR still exist in French elitist culture, and the legal system that protects them.
Interesting; I never thought of it that way before. Thanks for pointing out the parallels.
Great picture! Talk about spectacle.
The Guillotine located on what is today La Place de la Concorde, formerly known as Place de La Revolution in the center of Paris, operated 24/7 for almost a year. No trials, sometimes kangaroo courts, teenagers, the elderly, an indiscriminate blood bath in the name of the Revolution.
So called “Bastille Day” is nothing to celebrate.
Relating to America, the in-laws of the great American hero, Lafayette, were executed by guillotine. They were in their eighties.
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Interesting stuff.
As always, thanks for the pings.
I’ve always understood it that under the English Common law, you are considered innocent until proven guilty. That carried over into American Constitutional law.
Under the Napoleonic Code, you are considered guilty until proven innocent.
Unless you are someone important, and then you belong to the circle that runs things—and finds other people guilty.
With this in mind, does anybody really wonder 'por quoi' M. Strauss-Kahn was high-tailing it back to 'La Belle France' when he was oh-so-rudely taken off the airplane by NYPD, just minutes before said airplane was due to take off?
Quelle comique, M. Regnier, quelle comique...
the infowarrior
It is both, as human nature dictates that Marxist societies will, without fail, develop such a 'nomenclatura', which is, virtually indistinguishable from a feudal aristocracy, right down to being hereditary.
'Marxism is progressive' my lower left cheek! It is a regression back into feudalism, complete with an aristocratic elite...
the infowarrior
No sh*t, ya froggy skank. Even though our system is too corrupt to live up to its promise all the time, we at least espouse equality before the Law, and sometimes deliver.
Sending the aristocratic puke-rapist to Rikers Island was a beautiful and intensely American thing to do. A moment we can be proud of.
Very true
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