Our unfair justice system

For quite some time, I have noted a basic flaw in the current state of our justice system.

This flaw has become painfully obvious lately with what I view as the malicious “prosecutions” of former president Donald Trump as well as virtually anyone associated with him, including his attorneys. (When has this ever happened before?)

It appears that anyone within “social distance” of Trump is being targeted by our “justice” system as well as various state AGs trying to curry favor with the Deep State players whose highest priority has been the prevention of his return to the presidency. The prosecutorial goal seems to be ruination and bankruptcy instead of justice for the targeted.

Reading accounts of the prosecutions of, for example, General Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort, Roger Stone, the J6 prisoners and, of course, former President Donald Trump, it became apparent to me that when any average citizen is being tried by the government, the odds are insurmountably against the defendant.

The government has unlimited funds and a virtually unlimited supply of lawyers on its staff whereas most citizens have relatively limited means with which to mount a defense. Because of this horrendous imbalance, the defendant’s only options may be to pursue his defense at the cost of financial ruin/bankruptcy or plead guilty simply to avoid ruin for his family.

In cases where the person charged decides to accept a court-appointed lawyer, one may wonder whether his incentive/motivation is sufficient to mount a spirited defense.

In the matter of malicious, frivolous and arbitrary prosecutions, of which there are so many recent examples, where is the accountability for the government when a financially and emotionally exhausted defendant finally prevails? Are lawyers held to account? Disbarment, loss of license to practice, or simply chastisement by a judge, if that?

It seems to me that, at minimum, when the government loses a case, it should make the defendant “whole” by reimbursing all of his legal costs associated with his defense. A best/fair scenario would be for paying all defendant’s legal fees win or lose. That would assure “equality of opportunity” for either side to prevail. That would be minimal accountability.

Ideally, in cases of obvious misconduct and perversion of the laws by prosecutors, there should be recourse by defendants to hold them financially, legally and professionally accountable. Only then might we see some semblance of a return to the kind of justice system to which we are entitled.

Jeff Paley