NEW AMERICAN TRUTH: October 2007

UN-Common Sense:
Examining Common Absurdity Everywhere

A few days ago I received an email update regarding Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean. It seems as if an attorney has examined their case and believes he has an argument that will get them either
1) out of jail, or
2) a shorter jail sentence.

Apparently, an attorney named Bill Olson has filed a brief on behalf of Ramos and Compean "which could provide the help they need." In examining the case to determine why the Border Patrol Agents received 11 and 12 year sentences, Olson's team found that in each case 10 of the years given in the sentencing was for violation of a law that doesn't apply. It seems that they received ten years each because the prosecutor, Johnny Sutton, charged the Border Patrol agents WITH VIOLATION OF THE WRONG LAW. In fact, what he did was charge them with violating the law because they discharged their firearms while trying to catch a drug smuggler. The law they were charged with violating punishes those who use firearms to PROMOTE the successful completion of a violent or drug trafficking crime.

Two things about this are distinctly bothersome and one thing should result in Johnny Sutton behing charged himself (in my opinion).

1) The law's language is so complicated that it takes an attorney and his TEAM to properly translate it into anything understandable by a JUDGE.

2) The U.S. Attorney for that district, Johnny Sutton, couldn't understand the language clearly enough to prevent charging people with it incorrectly.

Those two items alone are scary. Taking a look at our elected representatives today we find that a great many of them are lawyers. They speak their own language and they continually evolve that language into something that the common man could never understand. By doing so they promote their own business. After all, if the law were so simple that any eighth grader could understand it - AS IT SHOULD BE - then we wouldn't need lawyers as much and they couldn't charge those outrageous fees. So we find ourselves in the distasteful position of having our legislatures creating laws in a language we can't fathom, much less understand and begin to question or argue. The end result, as we can see in the Ramos / Compean case, is that the laws themselves are so complicated that a JUDGE and a U.S. Attorney can't understand them sufficiently to act properly. As a result, two Border Patrol Agents get charged with the wrong crime, are found guilty and then are sentenced accordingly.

Now, here's item three that is a realistic possibility, but I hope and pray it's not reality:

The third item is the possibility that Johnny Sutton completely understood the law he charged those men with; KNEW that it didn't apply; WANTED something that would get them longer sentences and incorrectly charged them ON PURPOSE. If so, then Johnny Sutton has voluntarily and with malice aforethought (that means he thought about it, weighed it morally, knew it was wrong and did it anyway) charged those agents with the wrong crime. Here's the kicker though...

Whether Johnny Sutton charged those men incorrectly because he didn't understand the law or because he completely understood the law and just wanted them in jail longer, it's a sad day when a Federal Judge can't understand the law enough to catch the mistake.

This brings me to the center of the column: how can any law enforcement official expect any American citizen to act in accordance with all laws when the laws themselves are so hard to understand that professionals within the legal system can't understand them? This applies not only to criminal law but also to other areas as well, such as taxes.

In our country today every citizen is required to pay income tax. If you aren't confident in completing yours you can call the IRS and ask for help. They will help you for free. After your taxes are filed, if you get audited and a mistake is found, do you know whose fault it is? YOURS. The IRS accepts no responsibility for ANY mistake ANY of their employees make in helping you COMPLETE YOUR TAXES.

I am all in favor of SIMPLE. If all laws were written so that the average 8th grader could understand them then our legal system wouldn't be so screwed up; lawyers wouldn't cost as much; and fewer people would be claiming that they broke the law out of pure ignorance. Oh, by the way, "ignorance is no excuse."

Unfortunately, while we continue to elect lawyers to represent us, things will never change. SO, vote for your local electrician, plumber, cashier, bank teller, business owner, etc. The ONE question you should ask before you decide whether or not to vote for them is, "Are you an attorney?" If they answer yes, run hard... run fast... run the other way. If they say, "no," then check and make sure. THEN, if you agree with most of their outlooks, trust them to represent you and feel they'll help make things simpler for you, cast that vote.

In the meantime, if I hear anything else about Ramos or Compean I'll be sure to pass it on.