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Show CITIZEN PART SI AND THE LAW: X REVIEW, B6 December 23, 1965 I Justice From The Court System? It Aint Aint Necessarily So BY JIM BALDWIN By Jim Baldwin What is the end product of forth as one side to an action. The court may not stand as the American court system? opponent to an opponent. The controversy must be Apart from the assigned function of the principals -- real. It may not be fictional. Courts dont suppose. They lawyers, judges, jury, prosecutor, plaintiff - apart from do not concern themselves these, what develops 'before with hypothetical issues. the bar.' Nor are courts interested What should you, the public in or concerned with political expect to develop - to be the issues. No court may give advice product of the courtroom drama? Justice, perhaps? as a product of the court. The Justice wears a blindfold court may not advise the Presiand the scales are balanced. dent, nor the Governor, nor Justice is for both sides any citixen on a legal matter. not one side only. It may interpret the law or Do courts promise justice? rule on a procedural matter; Do they guarantee freedom? but it may not presume a legal Or Liberty? Or constitutional question and advise upon that rights? Or adrice and infor- question. To receive legal mation? ho. he at an. advice from a court, even the The courtroom Is an area President must become inof conflict. Courtroom actions volved in a case or controare confrontations of legal versy. is Someone adversaries. If your constitutional rights have been violated; if you have going to lose. Like in baseball, the game may be called been unlawfully deprived- - of because of rain, but there property or personal liberty; can be no ties. if you are the victim of any The courts of America exist violation of any statute and to consider 'cases or controIgnore the tact . . . .So? To versies.' In every courtroom achieve legal ends through a conflict there must be advercourt, there must be a case. saries, opponents in fact op- You, or someone acting in posing one another. your behalf, must bring a The court may not 'tand legal action. Defenders Ponder Future (Continued from page A2) local labor union might present a plan and obtain funds to assure legal assistance to Its members through a legal staff that it could hire to represent local people. A church mirht Initiate and Rae, defense counsel; to succeed Galen Roes as president of the section, others elected were Richard S. Shepherd, deputy Salt Lake County Atand torney, Mr. Searle, vice-preside- nt; The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and all the justices of all the courts may observe a deliberate and tragic infringement upoo your and if constitutional rights you fail to bring an action, if you fail to establish a case or controversy before one of those judges or justices, they are powerless to act. They simply lack authority or Jurisdiction. And should they act upon their own initiative, that action is subject to challenge. Justice from the courts? A study of the constitutions of the United States and the State of Utah will make it clear immediately that courts do not deal in Justice. Examination of a multitude of cases will demonstrate clearly that for any just result, the opposite result may have been justly achieved in the same or another court. U. S. -- Thus, Justice is not the function of courts. It is not their Intended end product. It is the Auction of courts to hear cases and controversies and reach decisions based upon what they have heard. It is their end product to resolve controversy and to conclude cases. This, of course, does not mean that the idea of Justice is absent from the courtroom. Counsel for defense demands Justice. The prosecutor demands justice. Each demands opposite results. And when opposite results arise from like sets of tacts, courts will be quick to proclaim that justice has been done in each case. Judges, aware of justice as a acting upon the Individual conscience, are more directly concerned with uct remedy or redress. They are primarily and directly concerned only with application of the law. In every courtroom controversy, there is a loser. It is not at all Irregular or unexpected that Justice will have abandoned the loser. Taking of a life is unjust.... except that the State, through its courts, takes lives. And it is not unheard of that the State takes lives unjustly -the lives of the innocent unjustly convicted. By the same token, courts set killers free. They gofree in the name of Justice . . . but they are set free under law. The innocent are convicted because of the manner in which the law was imposed by the combination of all those acting in the courtroom. By the same techniques, the guilty are set free. Of what concern to courts is in the confiscation of property for the use by the state hr a city? A community determines, by its laws, that property may be taken or altered under given legal circumstances. Under those often in the circumstances, very teeth of blind Justice, Justice property is taken. It is vital to any public understanding of courts that we see each court functioning on a framework of law and within the boundaries of established procedure. Without a system of laws a society must collapse. Courts are concerned with the physical survival of society. During this concern for physical survival, they also are concerned with physical development and growth of society. Courts, then, uphold the law. At the same time, they modify the law. The procedures under which courts function are established by themselves for the convenience of their performance. So long as their rules of procedure do not infringe upon constitutional or statutory rights of the individual, courts are not concerned with right or wrong. They are, in their rules, concerned with Gee Lady , Your Song Made The Sun Come OuV 'Gee, Lady, your song made the son come out! This was one small Primary Childrens Hospital patients excited to the singing-o- f the on HOLLADAY NEWS (Continued from page B 2) F lotcer"'f rophy Linda Kronstadt, 2812 Kentucky Avenue, used her artistic ability to the best advantage this month and won a trophy for the best arrangement in the Jr. Division at expedient results. Even as the innocent may the Fifth Annual Christmas be convicted because of the Flower Show of the Artistic manner in which laws are Designers Garden Club held December 10, 11 and 12 at applied in courtroom controversy, the innocent may be the Garden Center, Sugar convicted and the guilty freed House Park. because of application of rules Miss Kronstadt, daughter of of procedure in the courtroom. Mr. and Mrs. Reuben KronMore readily, property may stadt, was listed among the 14 winners at the show and was change hands because of application, or misapplication of the only winning entry from the Holladay area. Her entry rules of procedure. By their character, then, was a red and green door swag. we see that courts lack perLinda seems tohaveaknaca for winning ribbons and prises sonality; they are without inhas entered at various flower dividuality; they lack initiaare without shows in the area as she has tive; they emotional concern for people. accumulated 20 blue ribbons (first place award), 12 red Courts, rather, are the fishponds in which Judges, juries, ribbons (second place award), one Sweepstakes Award, two lawyers and their clients perform tinder the adversary sysJr. Achievement Awards, one tem. A result is upheld and Silver Cup; a cash award of it is Just if it is within the 28.00, and her newly acquired law. Should the law be subtrophy. verted to judicial incompetAlong with her artistic abilence, by collusion or other ity, Linda is also talented In procedural negligence, the music and plays the cello She is a student at Churchill function of the courts in subverted. Jr. High School and a member There are many things that of four youth orchestras. can becloud the fishbowl. Not the least of these is a lack of public interest and 'concern for courtroom function. Lack of Interest spells lack of understanding. It is in the vacuum of misunderstanding that injustice is bred. seldom fails to work. There was the sad, silent old woman who suddenly came to life and began to speak when the Chor-alie- rs rendition of 'Oh, Susannah struck a responsive cord. Or the white-hairgentleman who sat up and grew alert when he heard 'When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again.' Again, the group discovered at Harmony House that one of the members of the audience had been a soloist in the annual performance of Handel's 'Messiah.' Though for many years she had been too ill to sing, when Mrs. Robert E. Cutler, the Choraliers song leader, offered to sing along with her in one of Handels solos, the woman thrilled everyone by revealing that she still had a lovely voice. It was one of the most gratifying moments in the groups brief career. For the Choraliers came into existence only two years ago as an activity of the Salt Lake Junior Leagues Music Group. The chorus is now the principal activity of the Music Group, but they also serve when the Junior League sponsors the annual Metropolitan Opera auditions each spring. Chairman of the music group is Mrs. Robert Z. Reed. Mrs. Monte L. Hunsaker is vice chairman and Mrs. A. William Kelson Is secretary. ping. Directing the chorus are Mrs. Almost every member of Robert E. Cutler and Mrs. the group has some favorite Robert W. Darger. Mrs. Del anecdote which proves that F. Stoker is accompanist. this special brand of therapy Junior League Choraliers. It had been a gloomy day when the group arrived at the hospital, but, during one of the numbers the sun broke through the clouds, and at least one small inmate thought the songsters had worked magic. Making the sun come out is a regular feat for this Alchorus. though they occasionally sing for other institutions, their regular serenading is done in the nearly 100 nursing and old age homes throughout Salt Lake County places which are somewhat off the beaten path of most volunteers. And the group will be creating special magic during the holidays by bringing the sound of Christmas to many of our citys sick and elderly. Although members of the chorus sing for the joy of singing, they build their repertoire with the idea of therapy foremost. They generally begin a program with four songs of general interest, such as Negro spirituals or old like 'Annie Laurie. Then they ask the audience to join in for a community sing from song sheets which are passed around. This part of the program leans towards old popular songs, folk songs, and songs of World War I. The choraliers try to urge everyone to Join in, even if only by clapping or foot taphard-worki- ed ng fab-ori- tes receive funds for a plan that would assure aid to the Indigent, Mr. Marsh said. It is further critical, Mr. Marsh learned that funds will be withheld if there is any implication that bar preference will be given over general community preference of any agency receiving OEO help. Federal legal aid funds, Mr Marsh said, will not be dedicated to the principles of the bar, but will be made available to any group which first presents an acceptable plan. The Criminal Law Section, meanwhile, in an election of officers, named Robert Mc SAVINGS INTEREST COMPOUNDED and PAID QUARTERLY EACH ACCOUNT INSURED to $10,000.00 Y THf FFDCIAt DCKDSfT tNSUlANCl CO fO A DON SAVINGS THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE for MONEY IN THE BANK ISFtCUUY WHEN FT'S IN VVOOO imWfc ij i mu ooMirw IJ IN THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS We, the owners and employees of A G and Foodtown supermarkets wish to thank you for your devoted, unshaken patronage, and in the sincere hope that peace, happiness, good health and good fortune wil prevail in your homes, wish you a very merry Christmas and the happiest of New Years. J 1 1 !! o (3330 |