Constitutional Cop Out

I have been amazed by the US legal sytem ever since O J Simpson bought his innocence during the soap opera, that was his trial, back in '95.

Here's the latest ruling in the 'All people are equal, but some are more equal than others' fiasco.

"The Supreme Court ruled Monday that while people pleading guilty to crimes are entitled to an attorney, judges don't have to warn them of the disadvantages of not seeing a lawyer."

"The high court overturned an Iowa Supreme Court decision that said judges must tell defendants of the disadvantages of pleading guilty without consulting a lawyer."

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No matter how I rack my brains, I cannot think of a single, fair reason to deprive a defendant of that knowledge. Of course, middle class America will be unaffected; the gargantuous insurance industry will see to that. It will, once again, be the lowest common denominator that gets to grasp the sticky end. Y'know, the ones that aren't likely to have the 'golfing buddy-cum-lawyer' round to dinner, or the means to access us.legal.self-represent. Basically, it will be those that would benefit from the information the most, that will end up tumbling through the hole in the judicial safety net. What a surprise.

I suppose it will help the system to chug along a bit quicker. After all, if a case has no public-defender, there won't be any tedious mitigating circumstances to consider, or suggestions that the confused defendant, pleading guilty to murder, was actually acting in self-defence. (An extreme example, but it illustrates my point)

Here in the UK, we haven't got the perfect legal system by any stretch of the imagination. However, if I ever found myself in a spot of bother, I know where I'd sooner be tried.