Two Kinds Of Justice

          When are the citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania going to stand up and say enough is enough?  There appears to be one set of rules and laws for the average person and another for police, judges, political officials and the well connected.  Our prisons are getting filled up to the brim, with people of color and poor whites, while the big shots snub their noses at the laws and are protected by their own kind, a cold-blooded case of class and race warfare.

          Just recently former Pa. State Supreme court justice Joan Orie Melvin was tried and   convicted 6 out of 7 counts of crimes related to using state employees to work on her campaign, while getting paid for other official duties. She could have received 25 years in prison, but Common pleas judge Lester Nauhaus sentenced her to 3 years of house arrest followed by 2 years of probation. She did get a measly $55,000 fine, but keep in mind her annual salary was almost $200,000 that just recently was stopped. The fine was only a drop in the bucket compared to all the money she made in her career and stashed away as judge and politician. The prosecutor even recommended that she serve a 4 years in prison for her crimes, but Judge Nauhaus said he wanted to give tax payers a break by sentencing her to house arrest in her $555,000 home, with 4 bathrooms wow! He really soaked it to her, threw the book at her, as they say, yeah right!!! Why is there a double standard in Pa. When it comes to crimes committed by the average citizen and those connected?

          This is the kind of crap that goes on in this state on a daily basis and will continue until the average person demands a change. Why isn’t there any concern when a single mother or minimum way man breaks the law, while trying to make ends meet, in their everyday struggle to survive?? Why doesn’t a judge place them on house arrest to save tax payers money, as was done in former judge Melvin’s case?  I’ll tell you why, because these chumps look out for each other. There are one set of laws and rules for them and another for everybody else.

          In one of my recent “Food for Thought” articles I talked about the Philadelphia, P.a Traffic court scandal, where 9 current and former judges were indicted on federal charges of conspiracy and fraud after a 3 year investigation into the rampant ticket fixing and other corruption on the bench. There was also an allegation that a current Pa. Supreme court justice was included because he was supposed to have gotten his wife’s ticket fixed. Some say, well that’s no big deal, but it shows a pattern of arrogance of these judges and elected officials that feel they are above the law and can pick and choose which laws they care to follow. The average citizen doesn’t get to choose which laws to follow. The judge in the traffic fixing cases gave preferential treatment to people with whom they were politically and socially connected. All of these chumps need to be held accountable by the rule of law they swore to uphold!

          There is a pattern of corruption in the commonwealth of Pa. In regards to how justice is dished out. In another of my “food for thought” articles I recently wrote about a Philadelphia judge that acquitted a cop from assault charges, where he was assigned to crowd control, at Puerto Rican parade. The  250 pound, muscle bounded cop, sucker punched a tiny frail 110 lb woman, knocking her to the ground and blooding her face, etc. And all of this was caught on video. There were also several credible witnesses, but the judge still looked out for one of his own acquitting the cop. Later it was revealed that the judge was married to a cop, so it shouldn’t be any surprise but it also shows a pattern of this conduct of having one set of rules and laws for the average citizen and another for police, judges and the well connected.

          Every time you turn on the news or pick up a newspaper, there are reports of the corruption jumping-off in Pa’s judicial system.  This isn’t the first time a Pa. Supreme court justice had to be removed from the bench, after being convicted of a crime. Back in 1994 Justice Rolf Larson got probation for conspiracy in a prescription drug fraud case. This clown had been on the bench for years dishing out harsh punishment to people of color and poor whites and talked crazy to them in the process. This clown was a cold blooded nut case on psycho drugs and tried to conceal his mental illness and get a steady supply of the drugs by getting other people to get the subscriptions filled in their names. Just like the rest of those big shots, he felt he was above the law and could pick and choose which laws to follow  at the same time he used his court platform to talk tuff to defendants while on the bench and in his court appeal opinions. The point I’m trying to make is, he only got probation for his crimes, no prison time like any other criminal. These clowns look out for each other at the same time filling up our prisons and building more prisons for the average citizen, yes people of color and poor whites. When is there going to be the same standard of justice for everyone.

          Penna. Supreme court justices continue to accept gifts from lawyers and businessmen that have cases coming before them. This is a fact not an allegation, they confessed to this, but try  to justify it by saying its cool since it’s disclosed, but as you know, even the appearance of bias or prejudice can be as damaging to public confidence in the administration of justice, as would be the actual presence of these elements, these judges and other elected officials need to be held accountable because they don’t even try to appear ethical and when they do get jammed for a crime there aren’t any consequences.

To be continued... Intensify the Struggle!!!

More on this topic and others in regard to stopping the death penalty, mass incarceration and solitary confinement in “keeping it real” articles by Robert Fisher on:

Prisonsfoundation.org/ go to site, search my name and click on the keeping it real articles.  There is also a chapbook of my original poems called “compromised Illusions” a collection of my all time favourites written over the years. 

I’m out, holla next month!!

 

Written by Robert  fisher May2013-05-23