Suspicions

While thinking about the recent case of the corrupt, and now exposed, Special Operations Section (SOS) of the Chicago Police Department, I mused about the nature of our police, prosecutors and far too many judges to never take the word of the accused against someone in law enforcement. That inherently suspicious nature is, perhaps, inevitable. It is also very unfortunate. It is what makes many court proceedings unfair - often in the extreme - and leads to making the truth-finding function of the courts a sham formality. Perhaps a bit of perspective is needed as in these thoughts from the Father of Taoism, Lao-Tzu:

Once upon a time a man whose ax was missing suspected his neighbor's son. The boy walked like a thief, looked like a thief, and spoke like a thief. But the man found his ax while digging in the valley, and the next time he saw his neighbor's son, the boy walked, looked, and spoke like any other child. Similary:

The more laws and order are made prominent, the more thieves and robbers there will be. Lao Tzu

Perhaps we need to revisit the origins and power of the presumption of innocence........

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John A. Birdsall, Birdsall Law Offices, S.C.
135 W. Wells St., Ste 214, Milwaukee, WI 53203
414.831.5465 - www.birdsall-law.com

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