In Jail Without a Lawyer: How a Texas Town Fails Poor Defendants

Post by lurk2 » Wed, Mar 26, 2025, 2:39 PM UTC

marcus_holmes wrote: post #281

lurk2 wrote: post #257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> We're really not. Just the health care issues, which can be directly seen in the life expectancy figures, make us materially richer, never mind anything else. They don’t. Americans earn something like 1/3rd more than the average European. They have substantially larger houses and own more cars. > And I much prefer not needing to exercise my rights to self-defence in the first place The vast majority of people will…

I lived in Berlin for a while. Most people don't own a car in Berlin. Not because of poverty, but because the city is walkable (you can walk from one side to the other in an afternoon, it's a lovely thing to do on a summer's day). Your metric of "own more cars" is not incorrect, just irrelevant. It's like saying that Europeans are wealthier because they are more likely to have a passport. Likewise for "substantially…

Post by alabastervlog » Wed, Mar 26, 2025, 2:45 PM UTC

modo_mario wrote: post #172

yieldcrv wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

no, not really, this is a separate issue. yes, American exceptionalism relies on a comparing itself to the worst countries in the world and ignoring that developed nations exist and work out decently. but there really is a skepticism about some Europe nations, can they - and the bloc - sustain its 21st century advances and social safety nets while adequately paying for its own defense? inquiring minds would like to k…

>but there really is a skepticism about some Europe nations, can they - and the bloc - sustain its 21st century advances and social safety nets while adequately paying for its own defense? Yes. The EU's defence is a political unity issue. Not a spending one. It needs a unified foreign policy where that makes sense and the like. Not countries receiving preferential gas pricing and pusyfooting when it comes to giving a…

Post by FilosofumRex » Wed, Mar 26, 2025, 2:46 PM UTC

mcherm wrote: post #224

FilosofumRex wrote: post #104

Of course big corp media like NYT would report on injustices in red states, especially Texas. Next door to NYT in the deep blue state of Massachusetts, two men have been arrested for simple trespass even though they had valid active IDs. Cops simply took the ID and left it out of police report, and never turned it over to the DA or the defense as exculpatory evidence. All with complete impunity and re-arrested them h…

There is a HUGE difference between what the NYT article is reporting on and the case you describe. Certainly the Massachusetts case you describe is as bad as -- probably worse than -- the Texas case described by the NYT article. But the NYT was using that specific case as an illustration; the point of the article is that this is happening REGULARLY, even to a majority of the cases in that county. One-off failures of…

Post by A_D_E_P_T » Wed, Mar 26, 2025, 2:47 PM UTC

ajross wrote: post #269

A_D_E_P_T wrote: post #256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In China I recall that "the burden of proof was on the parties" and both sides were asked to submit all relevant evidence to the court. Then there were a couple of meetings where my lawyer met with the other side's lawyer to review the evidence. If you're the plaintiff and you have evidence that supports your version of events, you give it all to the court. If you're the defendant and you have exculpatory evidence, o…

> If you're the plaintiff and you have evidence that supports your version of events, you give it all to the court. If you're the defendant and you have exculpatory evidence, or anything that shows that the case is frivolous, you give it all to the court. Yes, but what if you're the plaintiff/defendant and the other party has evidence in your favor? How do you get it before the court? That is what discovery is for. H…

Post by vel0city » Wed, Mar 26, 2025, 2:47 PM UTC

999900000999 wrote: post #245

lurk2 wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> European society proves that Americans could have true freedom and quality of life if it weren't for corporations and oligarchs effectively owning our government. Europeans have far more restrictions on their rights of speech, self-defence, and freedom of conscience than the Americans. They are also substantially poorer than Americans, and those numbers get worse when you account for America’s average being skewed…

America has more ultra rich people and high income earners. But if you’re poor and have an easily treatable illness, say type 1 diabetes, you’ll die begging for insulin. It’s very easy to lose everything within a few months. You get sick, lose your job, your entire family loses health insurance. We have this stupid prosperity gospel idea which conversely means poverty is your fault. Can’t afford medicine for your kid…