Posted on 07/09/2013 6:39:40 AM PDT by Servant of the Cross
Our courts have too often become expressions of the popular will.
In ancient Athens, popular courts of paid jurors helped institutionalize fairness. If a troublemaker like Socrates was thought to be a danger to the popular will, then he was put on trial for inane charges like “corrupting the youth” or “introducing new gods.”
Convicting gadflies would remind all Athenians of the dangers of questioning democratic majority sentiment. If Athenian families were angry that their sons had supposedly died unnecessarily in battle, then they might charge the generals with capital negligence — a warning to all commanders to watch their backs. As in the case of Socrates, a majority vote often led to conviction, and conviction to a death sentence, or at least ostracism or exile. The popular courts freelanced to ensure that “the people” would hold sway over the perceived powerful and elite.
For a couple of years in revolutionary France, a Tribunal Révolutionnaire tried royalists, clergy, the wealthy, and supposed counter-revolutionaries on trumped-up charges of crimes against the people. Their purpose was a more violent version of the Athenian idea that the courts should serve the public by targeting the prominent, influential, or wealthy.
We in the United States are in jeopardy of turning our own criminal-justice system into revolutionary tribunals — fanned by the popular media and public opinion and directed against so-called enemies of the people.
(Excerpt) Read more at nationalreview.com ...
VDH ping.
“Sit down, Mr. Leamus. This tribunal will tolerate no more outbursts. to the guard: If he moves again take him to his cell” From: The Spy Who Came in From the Cold.
Communists used tribunals all the time, and still do, in whatever form they are today.
Note that, last week, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper calmly admitted that he had lied while under oath in testimony to the U.S. Congress, in answering “No” to the question, “Does the NSA collect any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans?” Clapper has been neither fired nor indicted for perjury. For that matter, Attorney General Eric Holder was also not truthful when, under oath, he denied knowledge that the Justice Department had gone after reporters.
... where is the DNC-run media? only crickets ....
Very good article!
thanks for the ping. Great article by VDH
Ping!
Interesting times bump
What we are seeing today is the 60’s radical ‘youths’ taking over the country for over 5 decades, and The Cultural Revolution coming to fruition.
All pillars of traditions under attack or had been torn down, I am surprised we haven't been issued ObaMao’s little red book yet.
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