by TheJusticeofthePeace @ 31.
Oct. 2010. – 11:07:23
Events and news are the lifeblood, heart and lungs of any blogger. For this blogger these stimulants usually emanate from the legal posturings and goings on to be found within this country but occasionally a piece of news from abroad is just asking to lifted.
Anyone who has watched that amazing TV series based on the New York Police Dept. “Law and Order Special Victims Unit” will have noticed that police are in the habit of questioning suspects without their necessarily having a lawyer present. The questioning of children on their own also seems to be within their rules.
I have attended court rooms in central Manhattan and generally been impressed with the efficiency of the arraignments court and the quality of justice. Indeed after speaking on behalf of a down and out pleading guilty to begging I saw a Public Defender pass a dollar bill of unknown value into the departing miscreant’s hand with the words, “That will get you home”. I`ve yet to see a duty solicitor show similar monetary compassion. This was also the occasion when, as the judge rose at the end of her shift, I stood up from my seat in the open public gallery at 4.00p.m to be sternly told off by one of New York`s finest, “Stay seated until the judge leaves the court”.
But to return to the topic, a New York judge has ruled that a six year old child can be sued. Even with the bare facts of the report it does seem perverse. Although the American legal system is based upon English common law the ever increasing European influence in this country seems to be taking us away from that common foundation. Whether that is a good thing or not I leave to others.