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| The American Justice System - True Justice still evades most minority defendants in a system where access to money determines the degree and quality of justice one receives. South Florida has a particularly dismal record when it comes to
the administration of justice to the poor and disadvantaged in our area,
especially members of minority groups. Statistical studies have proven repeatedly
that an economically disadvantaged person of color has a far less probability of
receiving an acquittal than a Caucasian, poor or otherwise. The fact remains that the quality of justice in this country, especially in South Florida, is determined more by what you can afford to spend on your defense than any other factor. Further, the entire system is corrupted by a prosecutorial system that is not at all focused on determining the truth of case as opposed to securing a another "win" for the state's legislators and statisticians. The patent irony of the statement that is on the wall of every courtroom is Florida is all to apparent to anyone who's been a participant in the area's justice system; "We who labor here seek only the Truth." As one attorney said in a recent trial, the statement should really be "We who labor here seek to win at any cost, let the truth be damned." What of the evidence that the state prosecutors in the tri-county area have a policy of refusing to drop charges, even in cases where it is readily apparent that the accused is probably innocent of the charges made against them? Even if they know you are innocent, the trend seems to be they offer you a "plea bargain" hoping that one will opt for the simple way out to avoid the expense of a good defense and the risk of loosing at trial. And frankly, this seems to be the approach not based so much on race as it is on economic capacity, which ultimately comes down to a some substantial degree of racial influence. Is not such a policy completely unethical and unconstitutional? Probably. It's certainly un-American. Then there is the issue of Police Brutality and abuse. The system of oversight for police officers is woefully lacking. Reports of racial profiling, the profane use of racial epithets with young people and families of minorities in even minor traffic altercations, violence against suspects, even murder of suspects and inmates tend to get pushed under the carpet by the area's justice officials. Prisoners in our County Jails are gravely injured and sometimes killed by correctional officers, almost as a matter of routine, and the officers involved consistently go unpunished and unsanctioned. The NAACP of Fort Lauderdale has called for the development of a civilian review board that would not only have investigatory powers, but also the power to subpoena officers and witnesses, to take sworn testimony from same and issue public recommendations for punishment or sanctions of errant officers. This phenomenon, where our children end up fearing the "policing element" as well as the "criminal element" in our communities has to come to an end. The ultimate end result of operating our neighborhoods like miniature police states is that justice no longer prevails, only anarchy. In addition, the NAACP has attempted to maintain an open line of communication and regular dialogs with the local law enforcement agencies including the Fort Lauderdale Police Department and the Broward Sheriff's Office. Slowly but surely these efforts are having a positive impact on the treatment of minorities by police officers, and a more positive view of the police role in the community on the part of the residents of the community. However, slowly is the operative term, as such changes come about often only to be negated by the actions of one or two rouge officers who forget their sworn oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution. If you have had an incident with local law enforcement agencies or with the court system's prosecutors, send an email by clicking here (or write to us at the address below) so we can compile a database of incidents to present for investigation, or to investigate ourselves. However, due to financial, staffing and time constraints, we cannot assure that any action will be taken on any specific case or group of cases. At this time we are simply mining data for future use in our efforts to reform the American Justice system. Please include as many facts about the case you can in your information, not opinions unsupported by evidence. Names, dates, locations, times, witnesses, etc., all go along way in corroborating allegations of police and official misconduct.
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