The Worship of Law Enforcement
For those looking for a post bashing the police, you will be disappointed. For those looking for a post praising the police, you will likely be disappointed, also (but only because you’re never happy when my praise is not unqualified). This post is not exactly about the police, although it necessarily discusses them quite a bit.
This post is something I began thinking about writing on the day two law enforcement officers were killed in Minkler and another was wounded by a deranged individual who planned their deaths, as well as his own. This post is about my worship of law enforcement.
Idealism, Realism & the Practice of Law
When I started clerking as a law student and first began to see “what really happens” in the practice of law — as opposed to the theoretical side put forth in just about any law book I read in school — and I complained about it, I was labeled “naive” and “idealistic.” It irritated the hell out of me; it sounded and felt like a form of brush-off, as if to say, “if you were a real lawyer, you’d understand.”
Well, I’ve been a “real lawyer” for awhile now. Heck, I’ve even passed the point where I’m no longer called a “young lawyer” and can pay lower rates to join various associations.
But I still don’t understand.
Instead, I notice that I’m becoming more angry, more bitter and more inclined to come out swinging. Does that mean I’m becoming more naive? More idealistic?
I don’t think so. I think I’m becoming more realistic.
Three-Thousand and Zero
What in the world do I mean with a blog article titled “Three-Thousand and Zero”?
The simple answer is that they’re numbers.
But you knew that.
You Will Respect Mah Authoritay!
The front page of The Fresno Bee today reports that Sheriff Margaret Mims plans to sue the Fresno County Board of Supervisors.
According to the story, she’s not satisfied with trashing her own department’s budget: she now wants to go after the budget for the rest of the county.
Perhaps the funniest line in the entire story, though, is the quote from Mims about the supervisors:
They overstepped their authority. (Brad Branan, “Mims plans to sue supervisors” (February 6, 2010) The Fresno Bee, A1, col. 4.)
Now there’s an example of the pot calling the kettle black!
Nothing to Fear
In 1933 — for the younguns here, that’s a really long time ago — President Franklin D. Roosevelt said,
This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. (Franklin D. Roosevelt, Inaugural Address, March 4, 1933, as published in Samuel Rosenman, ed., The Public Papers of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Volume Two: The Year of Crisis, 1933 (New York: Random House, 1938), 11–16.)
Yeah, so?
Apologies & Lies
First, a shout-out to Ashleigh. (And one of my own apologies, if I didn’t spell your name right; I should have asked how to spell it when we were talking.) Ashleigh recognized me at the courthouse today in the stairwell and stopped me to say “hi.” I’m glad to have met one of my readers — it’s especially nice to meet readers like Ashleigh.
Staying with the theme of apologies, I should apologize for treating this blog like the poor step-child. As my regular readers will know, I have another law blog, Probable Cause: The Legal Blog with the Really Low Standard of Review. Partly because I like the name of the blog better — what more reason do I need? — and partly because it was intended to be more generic while this one has a regional focus, I tend to pay more attention to that blog. It shows, too: the readership there is more than six times greater than here!
Enough of the apologies. Well, mine, anyway….
Fresno Superior Court Calls Sheriff Liar
Today’s Fresno Bee headline — the paper version screamed “Sheriff’s Office under fire” on the front page above the fold — would have been funnier if it were about the Fresno Police Department. They’re the ones who are always shooting citizens.
At any rate, it’s about time the Fresno Superior Court recognized that the Sheriff’s Department is not above lying. I wonder if this will carry over to greater recognition of prevarication in the courtroom by individual officers? (Hahaha! Sometimes I make myself laugh!)
Investing in Public Safety
Of late, Police Chief Jerry Dyer seems to write almost as often for the Fresno Bee as any of their regular writers. Today, he reminds us,
Public safety is an investment, not a cost. (Jerry Dyer, “Invest in our public safety” (December 8, 2009) The Fresno Bee, p.B5, below the fold.)
If nothing else, the article shows that Jerry Dyer has mastered The Art of Orwellian Logic.
Time for Judgment
Quite often on this blog and my more popular blog (Probable Cause: The Legal Blog with the Really Low Standard of Review), I write things about judges that are perhaps less than flattering. After all, I’m usually writing about the failure to follow the law, the result-oriented judging that I too often see, and that this seems to be related to the fact that most judges are former prosecutors unable to shake off the old job and take on the new.
This entry is different.
“Our Policy Hasn’t Changed, Mr. Horowitz”
Unfortunately, before I can tell you why I wrote this post, I have to tell you about something I was planning never to blog about. I had hoped I would not have to write this post.
Friday’s court session made me realize I had no choice.