David Milgaard and improvements in Justice system

David Milgaard And Improvements To The Saskatchewan Justice System

By: Jacob Zunti

This article is in response to Lyndy Thorsen's CBC radio show Tuesday Yesterday your show posed the question as to what can be done to prevent another David Milgaard situation from happening... with your guests and callers detailing problems with the system, and posing possible solutions. Some also thought that the inquiry might go some distance in finding a solution.

injustices are being done in the name of justice in Saskatchewan everyday
In my opinion, injustices are being done in the name of justice in Saskatchewan everyday. Police lay charges to fulfill personal and political agendas; prosecutors are prosecuting in the most dubious of circumstances since they know that judges are failing to give due scope do the phrase "proof beyond a reasonable doubt;" judges think the public perceives them as being "soft on crime" and are straining to convict; legal aid is so under funded that any poor person who gets adequate representation through them is aptly described as lucky; and the union that represents legal aid workers is more interested in increasing the wages of the already working staff than in seeing that additional lawyers are hired... so lawyers who are already underemployed in the private sector get employment at a living wage and the poor can get proper representation.

crime stories are cheap and the prospects of defamation suits are slim
Classism and cronyism are also rife throughout the system, and the media - which originally was granted a watchdog role over the courts because of the injustices of the notorious Star Chamber proceedings and gained considerable status from this role - now sensationalizes stories and inflames public opinion to the detriment of an accused and jeopardizes his or her rights to a fair trial, or to function in society, and accepts without question the position of the police and crown on these matters. This is because they rely on the police department for their sources of information about pending cases of public interest, and because it costs money for investigative journalism - the type that clears a wrongly accused or questions the merits of a law from a public policy standpoint. Conversely, crime stories are cheap and the prospects of defamation suits are slim because the accused and convicted are rarely left with adequate resources to prosecute such suits if they ever had them in the first place.

My suggestions for improvement:

1.
-
-
Provide adequate funding for legal aid immediately. Repeal the provision in the Legal Aid Act that purports to deny people who use the services of Legal Aid from being able to sue their legal aid lawyer or the government for inadequate or negligent representation.

2.
-
-
-
-
-
--
Educate Saskatchewan police and prosecutors on the importance of civil rights and liberties, and the damage to livelihood and reputation that the mere laying of a criminal charge can do, rather than rewarding them for laying charges and obtaining convictions. Get some people with a real commitment to civil liberties issues into the justice department replacing or retiring those with prosecutorial or police connections who seem to dominate it now. It is passing strange that in every case of intervention of the justice department when the constitutionality of a law is brought into question, the department intervenes on the side of those seeking to uphold the law.

3.
-
-
Join the 21st century and accept that the citizens of this province have a right to access competent legal service and Saskatchewan's laws and regulations. Make them accessible on-line without fee as the federal government and most state and provincial governments have done.

4.
-
-
-
Repeal or amend the Constitutional Questions Act. It is intolerable that this legislation exists and allows the crown to ambush the unwary who are seeking to challenging the constitutionality of
legislation on the basis of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and naively believe that it is the supreme law of the land.

5.
-
-
Don't allow prosecutors to make the Saskatchewan Justice Department the first jurisdiction to use the Defamatory Libel Provisions of the Criminal Code in nearly 100 years to prevent public criticism of
police or prosecutors.

6.
-
Extend the ban on publication of the names of the accused to all citizens of the country, not just minors, retaining the right to publish on conviction only.

7.
-
-
-
-
-
Stop enacting and supporting laws that are unfair to the male gender, or which criminalize them for vague actions because they might commit violence or have been verbally abusive... when there is no
evidence that they have any intention to commit violence or a propensity to commit violence. Criminalizing someone because you fear that they might do something is akin to NATO justification for the bombing of Yugoslavia because the Serbs were massed to commit genocide and ethnic
cleansing. It is not, however, just or rational.

8.
-
Hold those who are responsible for the mess the justice system is now in, and the Milgaard fiascoe accountable.

To effect these changes, a broad broom will be required. And the best way to start is with a full public inquiry. In the interests of justice, and to restore public confidence in the justice system in Saskatchewan... even in Saskatchewan society itself which is beginning to look more and more hick and provincial all the time... because of things like the Milgaard and Martensville fiascoes, nothing less will suffice.

Sincerely yours,

Jacob Zunti

Endnotes:

Just in case you have forgotten about some of the details of the David Milgaard story here are a couple of references that might help you sort things out.

This is a simple point form site that has 31 slides that tell the story of the trail conviction and attempts to clear his name.

The Site is from Ryerson college. http://www.ryerson.ca/soc705/wrongcon/sld001.htm

This is a brief note discussing the settlement:

http://interactive.cfra.com/1998/03/06/14171.html

David Milgaard And Improvements To The Saskatchewan Justice System
*By: Jacob Zunti*

This article is in response to Lyndy Thorsen's CBC radio show Tuesday	Yesterday your show posed the question as to what can be done to prevent another David Milgaard situation from happening... with your guests and callers detailing problems with the system, and posing possible solutions. Some also thought that the inquiry might go some distance in finding a solution.

injustices are being done in the name of justice in Saskatchewan everyday	In my opinion, injustices are being done in the name of justice in Saskatchewan everyday. Police lay charges to fulfill personal and political agendas; prosecutors are prosecuting in the most dubious of circumstances since they know that judges are failing to give due scope do the phrase "proof beyond a reasonable doubt;" judges think the public perceives them as being "soft on crime" and are straining to convict; legal aid is so under funded that any poor person who gets adequate representation through them is aptly described as lucky; and the union that represents legal aid workers is more interested in increasing the wages of the already working staff than in seeing that additional lawyers are hired... so lawyers who are already underemployed in the private sector get employment at a living wage and the poor can get proper representation.

crime stories are cheap and the prospects of defamation suits are slim	Classism and cronyism are also rife throughout the system, and the media - which originally was granted a watchdog role over the courts because of the injustices of the notorious Star Chamber proceedings and gained considerable status from this role - now sensationalizes stories and inflames public opinion to the detriment of an accused and jeopardizes his or her rights to a fair trial, or to function in society, and accepts without question the position of the police and crown on these matters. This is because they rely on the police department for their sources of information about pending cases of public interest, and because it costs money for investigative journalism - the type that clears a wrongly accused or questions the merits of a law from a public policy standpoint. Conversely, crime stories are cheap and the prospects of defamation suits are slim because the accused and convicted are rarely left with adequate resources to prosecute such suits if they ever had them in the first place.

My suggestions for improvement:
1. - -	Provide adequate funding for legal aid immediately. Repeal the provision in the Legal Aid Act that purports to deny people who use the services of Legal Aid from being able to sue their legal aid lawyer or the government for inadequate or negligent representation.

2. - - - - - --	Educate Saskatchewan police and prosecutors on the importance of civil rights and liberties, and the damage to livelihood and reputation that the mere laying of a criminal charge can do, rather than rewarding them for laying charges and obtaining convictions. Get some people with a real commitment to civil liberties issues into the justice department replacing or retiring those with prosecutorial or police connections who seem to dominate it now. It is passing strange that in every case of intervention of the justice department when the constitutionality of a law is brought into question, the department intervenes on the side of those seeking to uphold the law.

3. - -	Join the 21st century and accept that the citizens of this province have a right to access competent legal service and Saskatchewan's laws and regulations. Make them accessible on-line without fee as the federal government and most state and provincial governments have done.

4. - - -	Repeal or amend the Constitutional Questions Act. It is intolerable that this legislation exists and allows the crown to ambush the unwary who are seeking to challenging the constitutionality of legislation on the basis of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and naively believe that it is the supreme law of the land.

5. - -	Don't allow prosecutors to make the Saskatchewan Justice Department the first jurisdiction to use the Defamatory Libel Provisions of the Criminal Code in nearly 100 years to prevent public criticism of police or prosecutors.

6. -	Extend the ban on publication of the names of the accused to all citizens of the country, not just minors, retaining the right to publish on conviction only.

7. - - - - -	Stop enacting and supporting laws that are unfair to the male gender, or which criminalize them for vague actions because they might commit violence or have been verbally abusive... when there is no evidence that they have any intention to commit violence or a propensity to commit violence. Criminalizing someone because you fear that they might do something is akin to NATO justification for the bombing of Yugoslavia because the Serbs were massed to commit genocide and ethnic cleansing. It is not, however, just or rational.

8. -	Hold those who are responsible for the mess the justice system is now in, and the Milgaard fiascoe accountable.

	To effect these changes, a broad broom will be required. And the best way to start is with a full public inquiry. In the interests of justice, and to restore public confidence in the justice system in Saskatchewan... even in Saskatchewan society itself which is beginning to look more and more hick and provincial all the time... because of things like the Milgaard and Martensville fiascoes, nothing less will suffice. Sincerely yours, Jacob Zunti

Endnotes:
	Just in case you have forgotten about some of the details of the David Milgaard story here are a couple of references that might help you sort things out.

	This is a simple point form site that has 31 slides that tell the story of the trail conviction and attempts to clear his name. The Site is from Ryerson college. http://www.ryerson.ca/soc705/wrongcon/sld001.htm

	This is a brief note discussing the settlement: http://interactive.cfra.com/1998/03/06/14171.html