Monday, June 30, 2008
Now that "the Calvary has arrived," we wonder how long it will be before Dorchester County is forced to compensate the inmates who provided free "voluntary labor" and South Carolina counties are forced to provide free attorneys for alleged contemnors facing incarceration of one year. We also wonder whether Sheriff Ray Nash will be able to provide documentation concerning who "volunteered," where they worked, the number of hours they worked, and the types of services they performed.
Labels: A. C. L. U.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
In America's Corrupt Legal System - A Danger to All, Dr. Les Sachs writes:
The tragic reality of the world's biggest corrupt legal system -America's rigged courts, bribed judges, fake and phony trials, extortion by lawyers, and over 2 million prisoners in the USA gulag. Why USA "justice" is not like in Hollywood movies, and why YOU could be the next victim on USA territory - innocent and sent to prison, or strapped to a table and put to death; or robbed of your life savings by American lawyers. Why YOU can be tortured, have your freedom and rights taken away, and why people in America are afraid to help you, or even tell what happened to you. The recent pattern of American violations of international law are ultimately based in the corruption of the USA domestic legal system. Phony USA courts are very dangerous even for travellers and visitors to America, who can easily wind up among the USA's more than 2 million prisoners, or lose all their family's possessions to corrupt American lawyers.
Labels: Civil Contempt, Misconduct
Friday, June 20, 2008
In BRING DADS BACK TO THE FAMILY, Kathleen Parker comments on Barack Obama's recent call for responsible fatherhood. She writes:
In Obama's words:
"We know that more than half of all black children live in single-parent households, a number that has doubled -- doubled -- since we were children. We know the statistics -- that children who grow up without a father are five times more likely to live in poverty and commit crime; nine times more likely to drop out of schools and 20 times more likely to end up in prison. They are more likely to have behavioral problems, or run away from home or become teenage parents themselves. And the foundations of our community are weaker because of it."
Obama is right on all of the above, but the stats are even worse. More than 70 percent of black children are born out of wedlock. Since 1960, we've tripled the number of American children living in fatherless homes, from 8 million to 24 million. The population as a whole increased just 1.7 times during that period.
What Obama fails to mention is that the problem of absent fathers, especially in the black community, is tied in part to well-intentioned social programs.
As I point out in my book, "Save the Males: Why Men Matter; Why Women Should Care," cracking down on deadbeats is one of those guaranteed applause-getters, but most of the fathers of whom Obama spoke make less than $10,000 a year -- or are unemployed.
Throwing them in jail won't help children much, either financially or psychologically. The truth, meanwhile, seems unwelcome in political circles: Most employed men pay their child support in full and on time, and always did, without government prodding.
Labels: "Deadbeat Dads", Non-custodial Parents
Thursday, June 19, 2008
SC CHIEF JUSTICE RAISES OBJECTION TO VETO OF LEGAL DEFENSE FUNDING
On June 3, 2008 The Post and Courier reported:
The chief justice of South Carolina's Supreme Court said Monday that Gov. Mark Sanford's vetoes of millions of dollars for legal defense programs for the poor will clog state court dockets.
Chief Justice Jean Toal also said the vetoes of $6.3 million to aid in indigent defense will increase the likelihood of appeals and saddle taxpayers with more spending to keep poor defendants in jails waiting for trials.
"The reasoning is not something I can understand," Toal told the Associated Press as the governor finished a campaign in North Augusta and Greer to convince people that lawmakers should uphold the $72 million he vetoed from a proposed $7 billion spending plan last week. (Read the remainder of the article at Toal raises objection to Sanford's vetoes.)
What strikes us as odd about this veto was that Governor Sanford has been complaining that shortfalls in funding for the prisons may result in prison closures. So why in the world would he want to increase the prison populations by reducing the budget for the Indigent Defense Fund?
Our prediction is that if something is not done about restoring this funding more people will have to represent themselves in Court, more innocent fathers will be jailed for non-support, and the Court dockets, and case backlogs will increase. This lack of insight on the part of the Governor and the Legislature is a prime example of the "Law of unintended Consequences."
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Our recommendation to Sheriff-elect Knight is to serve FOIA requests on Sheriff Nash as soon as possible to determine where the money that Nash is collecting is going, how much he collected from inmates for the processing fees, has much has been returned, and how much "volunteer labor" was supplied to Nash's friends. If Mr. Knight does not do that now, he will be facing an unbelievable mess when he takes office in January.
Labels: Institutional Mismanagement, User Fees/Hidden Taxes
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Labels: Responsibility
Monday, June 16, 2008
Labels: Civil Contempt
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Labels: Election of Judges
Friday, June 06, 2008
