I was in court the other day, to testify in a case. Whilst I was sitting awaiting my turn- I was having to shake my head in disgust. There was a guy that already had served 30 days for 3 tickets for driving while license suspended (turned out to be a clerical error later)- however- a rapist in a courtroom has been in jail less than 10 days, released- and was given "time served"- for sexual assault in the forth degree- he basically stalked some woman. Far more dangerous behavior, and far more predatory behavior.

I see these examples all the time- today- it was announced that the CFO for health south would not have to spend ONE DAY in jail- for stealing millions of dollars and defrauding investors. Yet I have seen a guy rolling a bum for 20 bucks spend almost a year behind bars.

1) Do you believe our legal system is broken? Explain yes or no please.

2) Is there a way to "heal" this system?

3) What is the greatest hurdle to fixing what is broken?

1) Do you believe our legal system is broken? Explain yes or no please.
Yes. As you describe ( I have witnessed the same) far too many criminals are put back on the street. Then folks wonder why we have high gun and violent crime rates???
2) Is there a way to "heal" this system?

3) Yes get the liberal, let em go again , judges OFF the benches.

3) What is the greatest hurdle to fixing what is broken?
Politics and money.

Sound more like you wish to scapegoat than adress the problem Ted- liberal judges are absolutely NOT the problem- not by any stretch of the imagination- I live in what could be argued as the most conservative state in the Union- and I don't think we have had a single criminal court judge that can even REMOTELY be called "liberal"-

what we have is, well, church ladies writing the law. Liberals have damn little to do with the debate really- because it is conservative policy and thought that has led to the incarceration of pot smokers over rapists and murderers!

In fact- I lay pretty much every single problem in the criminal justice system today- every one- at the feet of over-zealous conservative law makers that want to 'get tough on crime"- meaning, guess what? Vice squad gets extra funding, while th special victims unit gets disbanded.

Calling the problem "liberal" is a profound statement showing extreme ignorance of the goings on of our legal system.

If there is a problem- it is simply stupid laws that harm no person directly- that really, reallyi waste our resources.

1) Do you believe our legal system is broken? Explain yes or no please.

I am happy to say that with the exception of being in the wrong place at the wrong time back in the Seventies, I have not had to deal with the US legal system, other than getting screened off of jury duty a few times. It's easy, just be honest.

One of my philosophies in youth was to use urban camouflage. I drove a Malibu station wagon, which was before minivans became the mark of the suburban middle-class White male with too many bills. Yep, that and a haircut/shave stopped all the harassment tickets. But then I gave these Black people a ride to a gas station because their car had broken down, and bam! Stopped and ticketed.

I know a 30-something guy who gets stopped all the time and mentioned this strategy to him. Really, try to look straight or they love to needle you. Sucks, don't it?

Well, that's not being broken. That's human prejudice and sadism. Seems to be built into some types who go into law enforcement, a minority I'm sure.

Here's a problem in Colorado: We have the death penalty that racks up huge expenses for the due process part of the deal. Meanwhile, we have no cold case department for the CBI (FBI at state level). A doomed bill has entered the state legislature that would eliminate the death penalty and put those funds into a cold case department, which makes sense to me: Catch the murderers first, huh? But too many people believe in myths, so you might get away with murder here, and many do. That part of the system is broken.

We also don't have enough prison space to hold all the criminals we do catch, so that's not doing so well. And as CR has pointed out, a lot of these criminals shouldn't be doing prison time in the first place. We are taking productive members of society and turning them into unemployable dependents, or worse criminals as they try to make it with figurative iron balls chained to their walking parts.

And you wonder why crime statistics rise. It's all the fault of those goodie-two-shoes liberals out there going to law school. Um, maybe not, being as Republicans have ruled this state for decades up until recently. One might think that certain policies have been horrible failures, and that might make more sense.

Colorado Springs has a cold-case department manned by retired volunteers. That's how important such a thing is to a decidedly conservative community. Oh well, it doesn't cost much in tax dollars. But ohmygosh, we need that death penalty to deter those murderers we can't catch!

2) Is there a way to "heal" this system?

Put some sense into the whole thing. Teach people that if you stick out too much and aren't careful about it, there are those who will try to make life miserable for you. Wish it wasn't so, but it is. Make it hard to get away with murder, rape, grand larceny, and all those big crimes that truly hurt society. Forget about myths and take a good hard look at the truth of matters.

3) What is the greatest hurdle to fixing what is broken?

That would be human prejudice, sadism and an attitude that works against honest and productive members of society. Rather than a penal system, we have universities where you can major in criminology from the other side of the system. And one has a fair chance of getting away with murder, which is just plain illogical (to be nice).

But oh what the heck, blame it all on the liberals. It's so darn easy and ineffective.

The system is under stressed because it is underfunded. Raise taxes on the rich, hire more judges, build more court rooms, focus on violent crimes not drug use (treat thet at public clinics as a health problem) and the system will be fixed.

Also fire all the activist conservative judges who are in the thrall of monied interests and don't dispense justice due to their bizarre ideological biases.

I don't believe we ought to confuse two entirely separate issues here... Cops harassing you for some reason is a totally different subject than the "legal system" being broken. And, like many things, there is no silver bullet to "fix" it nor is there one simple thing wrong.

1) Do you believe our legal system is broken? Explain yes or no please.

2) Is there a way to "heal" this system?

3) What is the greatest hurdle to fixing what is broken?

1. The first item of business might be to determine what part of the legal system we're talking about here. Are we talking about the law enforcement agencies (city, county, state, federal, all of the above) or are we talking about the judicial system of trying and sentencing? Or might we be talking about the legislative systems that write the laws? Or the penal system that enforces the assigned punishment? All of those areas, and probably more besides, can fall into the broad brush of the the "legal system". Once we have a narrow enough topic, perhaps we should debate what we want that part of the legal system to accomplish. There is a huge difference between "rehabilitation" and "punishment", for example.

2. We can't "fix" what we can't define, so this question is moot until we narrow down #1 a bit. Likewise #3 is moot.

1) Do you believe our legal system is broken? Explain yes or no please.

Yes. We/it is not consistent, even-handed, nor in compliance with it's foundational "documents" (I pick for these: the last of the Continental Congress(es), the 1770's era Articles of US Confederation, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution, at least through Amend. 14, but possibly questionable thereafter! (But, you tell me your choices pls.) We the people are letting it all be this way too!

2) Is there a way to "heal" this system?

First, demand accountability, consistency, even-ness and honestly in our systems.

Second, take back the powers not specifically given to gov't. by the Constitution. (See Judge Napolitano's books, and similar such.)

Third, begin States Legislature and State Judiciaries conventions annually like, the occurring Governors converntions, to fight the Feds.

Fourth, teach the Anti-Federalist papers, and de-Fedding, as much as the Federalist Papers, and super-Fedding, in schools! (I was over 30 before I even heard of the Anti-F's!---Shame on me huh?)

Fifth, call a States or public convention to consider amendments to the Constitution.

Last, consider a principle-based legal system rather than a rule based system, which I believe we now have. (A really big step; but, it will bring philosophy and ethics back into public debate, no?)

3) What is the greatest hurdle to fixing what is broken?

A glob of unrestrained vested interests, special interests, poor/non accountability ingov't, hidden processes and procedures, "the kingsman" phenomenon that seems to very rapidly infect office holders, payola grande, a "broke media", and a pervasive general citizen lethargy and hopelessness!