Part 2 of the New York Times series on the state's small town and village courts is now online. As expected, things don't get any better. As the prosecutor in a rural county puts it:
'The reality is, you basically have to have no qualifications other than be a voter to put someone in jail, and that’s a very alarming situation,' Mr. Champagne said. 'To throw a layperson — some of whom don’t have a high school degree — in that position is just a recipe for disaster.'And why do these folks become small-town judges in the first place? Well:
Like a lot of newcomers to small towns, [judge Gori] wanted to get involved. But he didn’t like the sight of blood, so that ruled out volunteer firefighting. He was attracted instead to the court in the weathered firehouse. 'Law has always been kind of an interesting thing to me,' he said.
That interest, however, does not include a fascination with the technicalities that occupy lawyers. 'If you look at the laws, it’s all common sense,' he said.
Ultimately, Gori, who makes less than $4000 a year for his services, hits the nail on the head:
Still, he is convinced that he and the other justices across New York are honest people trying to do right. 'Economicswise,' he added, 'you couldn’t get the job done any cheaper.'And there we have it - how much justice can you afford?
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