- Few professions are based upon the skill of becoming
a wordsmith. Even less are adept at using logic, analysis and reasoning.
And fewer still are able to pursue the cause of noble purpose. Our view
of the legal calling has been shaded with visions of esteem and respect
since childhood. We have been taught that honor and duty were tenants that
advocates of the civil law took to heart and aspired to follow in their
occupation. But at some point in our lives, we are brought into direct
contact with the reality of the legal trade and are left with a foul taste
from the experience.
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- Just ask Dick the Butcher, his endorse tell the tale
- A man we may not know, but he surely knew his foe
- They call him a killer and part of the plot
- Joining another more famous than not
- That pretender to the throne who toils at his trade
- Banding together those rabble rousers he made
- Most think he was the one who spoke those words
- But Dick was the man who said no more lords
- Even though another wears the coat, it was but a fad
- Is the Butcher really the one who is the Cade?
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- What is the cause for this disappointment? When the allusion
is uncovered and the image is unveiled, we are confronted with the compromise
of values. The standard of right from wrong adopts a secondary position
to precedent. Upholding what can be done from what should be rendered constitutes
a path that all too often abandons the purpose of the 'Law'.
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- Advocacy for the sheer reason that the precedent allows,
is a perversion of the noble purpose for law. When 'Truth' is abandoned,
'Justice' is denied. Civilization is created and maintained through an
arbitration of disputes that respects the 'Rights' of ALL Individuals.
The 'Law' is the guide to settle and judge adherence to criterion of conduct.
But it is left to the realm of morals, ethics and values to establish those
principles. 'Equity' suffers not a right without a remedy, is based upon
moral standards of conduct and ethical codes. The 'Law' is NOT meant to
make those mores, but to apply them. Judges are the umpires of the rules.
Lawyers are the presenters of the evidence. And the Jury is the determiner
of guilt.
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- When the parts of this drama fail to conform to their
proper role, the system deserts its legitimacy. At the core of administering
'Justice' is the TRUTH . . . When lawyers forsake veracity for victory,
they destroy the ideal. And the 'Ideal' is the only force that unleashes
willful consent of each citizen. Without 'belief in the fairness' of the
process, only force remains for compliance. The Law is not complicated
by its nature. Certainly, not any more difficult to understand than knowing
'right from wrong'. The mystique that the legal profession attempts to
attribute to its practice, is meant only to serve the interests of that
occupation. There is no intrinsic superiority for this 'so called' esquire
class. The position of excessive influence, that they have assumed, has
been achieved because the citizens of the Republic have abdicated their
correct role as sovereign citizens. The result of this renunciation has
been the rise of repression and injustice.
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- The conduct and behavior of the barrister abandons their
counselor function. They refrain from the documentary role of a solicitor,
and seek to alter the outcome or verdict. The first causality, is usually
the truthfulness of the presentation. The result of these actions destroys
the process. And the final consequence ultimately, reduces the 'Rights'
and options of the individual, who is called the 'client'. More properly,
he or she should be addressed as the person in charge, and the attorney
as the hired hand to file the papers and relate their understanding of
procedure. When these roles are distorted or become non existent, the public
is led down the path to second class status. Put the attorney in charge
of legislating the passage of laws, and you enter the domain of the plantation.
And slavery is the real commodity that is produced within the province
of this arrangement.
- William Shakespeare introduced Dick to us in Henry VI,
part 2 and told what can be done.
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- Cade: Be brave, then; for your captain is brave and vows
reformation. There shall be in England seven halfpenny loaves sold for
a penny. (Cheap bread) the three hooped pot shall have ten hoops, (Pots
will hold much more liquor) and I will make it felony to drink small beer.
All the realm shall be common; (the same) and when I am King there shall
be no money; all shall eat and drink on my score; (at his expense) and
I will apparel them all in one livery; (all dress alike) that they may
agree like brothers and worship me their lord.
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- Dick the Butcher: THE FIRST THING WE DO, LET'S KILL ALL
THE LAWYERS.
- Cade: Nay, that I mean to do. Is not this a lamentable
thing, that of the skin of an innocent lamb should be made parchment, being
scribbled o'er, should undo a man: Some say the bee stings; but I say,
"tis the bee's wax: for I did but seal once to a thing, and I was
never mine own man since."
- When the Law is stripped away from the control of the
populace, and conferred through the offices of an elite; the dispensing
of 'Justice' becomes rare. The significance and respect for the process
is diminished. And when perceived righteousness is lost, Society vacates
their support for the execution of its practice. So when the question is
posed, where did the law go wrong? The answer is, it went the way of all
other tyranny. It was surrendered without much of a fight, by the people
who were blessed to receive it as a gift, through the suffering and sacrifices
of all prior generations. And all the time, that capitulation was rendered
nice and legal, and certified by a judge . . . Just ask Dick, he knows
what to do, when the slaughter reaches close to home, his trade might well
yield relief.
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- SARTRE - July 11, 2003
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- <>http://pages.zdnet..com/sartre/rules/id26.html
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