4 ms·

I believe this distortion is largely the product of the fact that the justice system has simply not grown in order to keep up with the growth of the U.S. popula

I believe this distortion is largely the product of the fact that the justice system has simply not grown in order to keep up with the growth of the U.S. population over time nor has it modernized practices sufficiently to mitigate this disparity. For example, many matters which would've been settled rapidly 50 years ago are delayed because each time the judge schedules a subsequent hearing, it is put at the end of an already extensive schedule. Because the docket of each judge is so full, a follow-up hearing for a respondant which would've come 3-4 days or maybe a week later in the past is now booked weeks or months down the road. I don't refer to the time delays which are intended to accommodate preparation of defense or to provide discovery. Totally perfunctory appearances can be spread out over weeks or months. The system has also failed to grown or adapt to accommodate the significant growth in chargeable offenses. Many more things are a criminal matter now than were 70 years ago.

jamiek88 4y ago
Same with congress. Proportional to population representation in congress, even at Wyoming population level would see around 3000 representatives. There’s a 700k to one mismatch and too much power in the hands of too few people. There would be a lot more room for more political parties too, breaking up the duopoly can only be good regardless of your leanings. The tents are too broad. Interesting to think about.
- DubiousPusher 4y ago
  Iteresting episode of Bruce Carlson's 'My History Can Beatup Your Politics' where he goes over the history of house size. Hopefully this link works for the non-subs. http://www.myhistorycanbeatupyourpolitics.com/repre.mp3 http://www.myhistorycanbeatupyourpolitics.com/repre.mp3
prirun 4y ago
> I believe this distortion is largely the product of the fact that the justice system has simply not grown in order to keep up with the growth of the U.S. population I believe this distortion is because small crimes like being caught with a joint are causing our jails and legal systems to become overloaded. The solution is not to grow the justice system but rather to make sure we don't overload it with laws & violations that are unimportant.
thomastjeffery 4y ago
You mentioned this only briefly: Population is not the only thing that has grown the count of trials. Law itself has expanded significantly. There are now many more crimes a person can be accused of. This is particularly evident in drug prohibition: possibly being in possession of a very small object (that isn't claimed by another person to be missing or stolen) is an incredibly low bar for crime accusation. An accusation of "sale or distribution" is even easier to construct! And we can see the result: 26% of arrests are for drug related crimes[1]. These cases aren't just being thrown out, either: 46% of prisoners in federal prison are there for drug related crimes[1]. That means their cases must have added to the number of trials other prisoners have to wait in line for. A high conviction rate also motivates law enforcement to pursue more of these arrests. By decriminalizing drug use, we could factor out a quarter of all arrests! That would surely present a significant decrease in wait times for trial. Are drug related crimes really so serious that we should continue to pursue them, even when that pursuit overwhelms the entire justice system? That seems incredibly irresponsible to me. [1] https://drugabusestatistics.org/drug-related-crime-statistics/ https://drugabusestatistics.org/drug-related-crime-statistic...

jamiek88 4y ago

Same with congress. Proportional to population representation in congress, even at Wyoming population level would see around 3000 representatives. There’s a 700k to one mismatch and too much power in the hands of too few people. There would be a lot more room for more political parties too, breaking up the duopoly can only be good regardless of your leanings. The tents are too broad. Interesting to think about.

DubiousPusher 4y ago
Iteresting episode of Bruce Carlson's 'My History Can Beatup Your Politics' where he goes over the history of house size. Hopefully this link works for the non-subs. http://www.myhistorycanbeatupyourpolitics.com/repre.mp3 http://www.myhistorycanbeatupyourpolitics.com/repre.mp3

prirun 4y ago

> I believe this distortion is largely the product of the fact that the justice system has simply not grown in order to keep up with the growth of the U.S. population I believe this distortion is because small crimes like being caught with a joint are causing our jails and legal systems to become overloaded. The solution is not to grow the justice system but rather to make sure we don't overload it with laws & violations that are unimportant.

thomastjeffery 4y ago

You mentioned this only briefly: Population is not the only thing that has grown the count of trials. Law itself has expanded significantly. There are now many more crimes a person can be accused of. This is particularly evident in drug prohibition: possibly being in possession of a very small object (that isn't claimed by another person to be missing or stolen) is an incredibly low bar for crime accusation. An accusation of "sale or distribution" is even easier to construct! And we can see the result: 26% of arrests are for drug related crimes[1]. These cases aren't just being thrown out, either: 46% of prisoners in federal prison are there for drug related crimes[1]. That means their cases must have added to the number of trials other prisoners have to wait in line for. A high conviction rate also motivates law enforcement to pursue more of these arrests. By decriminalizing drug use, we could factor out a quarter of all arrests! That would surely present a significant decrease in wait times for trial. Are drug related crimes really so serious that we should continue to pursue them, even when that pursuit overwhelms the entire justice system? That seems incredibly irresponsible to me. [1] https://drugabusestatistics.org/drug-related-crime-statistics/ https://drugabusestatistics.org/drug-related-crime-statistic...