Reply to DC criminal code overhaul is ghastly

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Any person facing potential jail time SHOULD be able to demand a jury trial.

This proposed law is not the problem; putting people in jail for up to a year for minor offenses is the real problem.

The US incarcerates a higher percentage of its population than any other country in the world.

Jailing people for minor offenses is expensive to taxpayers and dangerous for the individuals placed in jail or prison.

Poor people go to jail for misdemeanors. This is wrong & unfair. We need better ways to handle minor offenses.[/quote]

It's funny how this is basically the opposite of how DC handles traffic offenses.

The penalties for speeding and other infractions are pretty stiff and keep getting stiffer. When people say they're disproportionate to the offense, the response is invariably, "don't speed -- obey the law and you have nothing to worry about."

But here, with penalties for real actual crimes like violent assaults, the attitude is never "if you don't commit crimes, you have nothing to worry about." The attitude is always "can't we go easier on people who commit violent assaults?"[/quote]

How is granting one the option of a right to a trial by jury going easier on a defendant ?[/quote]

Because people who commit crime know ahead of time that the justice system will be completely overwhelmed with trials.  Anyone caught committing crime will just demand a trial and get released because the trial won't occur until 2-3 years from now.  In all likelihood, the charges will even be dropped because of a backlog in the courts.  In essence, there will be no punishment for crime, so watch thefts, property damage, stealing, etc. skyrocket. [/quote]

This. [/quote]

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