There was a shooting outside of our local courthouse today, and the shooter killed someone. Rumors are swirling and the investigation is ongoing, and I am not going to be a public vector for creating rumors. But I am going to say this: the reason we have courts in organized society is that courts are, fundamentally, civilization's alternative to violence. They are a universal signifier of a civilized people. Instead of sending mobs to torture and kill criminals, we have an orderly legal system to process and punish crimes both big and small. Instead of burning your neighbor's house down if you have a dispute over land, you file a lawsuit. And in a democratic society, if you disagree with how the courts work, you can help create change. On an individual level, you can argue your case in a fair court. While courts tend to be more removed from the democratic process, they are connected to it, so who you vote for in executive and legislative elections affects who sits on the courts. You have a voice in the laws that will be written and passed through your elected representatives. You can sit on a jury. And you can protest, petition, and push to change rules that you believe are unfair. That is what democracy is. If today's violence is directly connected to a court case, that is a significant tragedy. It is a tragedy for the victim and their family. And it also chips away at our orderly system of law. Violence shatters order and replaces "equality before the law" with "might meets right." It makes us, in a profound and fundamental way, less civilized.
Andrea Green
9mo
Did I miss the part where you mention not allowing these people to have guns... It seems in Colorado anyone over age 18 is entitled to keep a loaded pistol in their car without a permit. We should be more grateful to the Judges and Court Officers who show up every day.
Cedric Bond
9mo
Well said, Joel Pratt.
Thanks, Joel. Might I suggest a slight rephrasing of your assertion that "the reason we have courts in organized society is that courts are, fundamentally, civilization's alternative to violence"? If we were to say instead that "the reason we have laws in organized society is that law is, fundamentally, civilization's alternative to violence," then could we better understand that courthouses are the public fora in which law is administered? And then can we better understand that in and around those public fora there are opportunities both for understanding and dispute--and when weapons of violence are easily obtained, those who fail to seize the opportunity to learn the lessons taught there and instead express their grievances violently, courts become dangerous places for the citizens they serve?
Shauna-Marie W.
9mo
Australia on the other hand is merely notionally democratic. We have no "fourth" or "fifth" amendment, no constitutional right to counsel (including for an indigent suspect), some states have eroded the right to silence if an accused has a lawyer attend the police station, its often typical to be forced to trial for a criminal charge you deny if without a lawyer and the means to retain one, a defendant can't exercise the right of silence under cross examination if they believe they might incriminate themselves, and we've had no precedent like Miranda evolve in our system.
I was saddened to hear about the shooting outside the courthouse today. Your dedication to justice as a trial lawyer is commendable, and my thoughts are with you and the community during this difficult time.
There’s no appropriate LI emoji for this. I’m so sorry you experienced this. Just awful. I worry the rhetoric of the past several years is creating irreparable harm to our justice system. We should all continue to work together to restore trust.
Shauna-Marie W.
9mo
There isn't a right to trial by jury in Australia for the majority of crimes that typically incur prison sentences.
Matthew Berman
9mo
Well said.
How awful. You are so on point.
Just a single point; Not sure how the phrase "courts are, fundamentally, civilization's alternative to violence" in states that have the death penalty. It may be that the law deters, or is intended to deter, violence, but sometimes enforcement entails violence. Violence is not always bad. Depends on its purpose. Which is also why so many religions (and laws) get themselves in knots over killing, Having seen courts in operation, I can understand, but not condone, people being driven to extreme behaviour. Visit Florida 😉