I fought the law and the law won?

I have always respected the law. I fear the repercussions of breaking the law. I'm not sure I do anymore.

On Wednesday, I covered provincial court in Rocky Mountain House. Was I ever disappointed with our justice system. I've been a law abiding civilian my entire life. I don't have a criminal record. I do have two speeding tickets, which I paid in a timely manner.

What's the point?

The entire process was crap. Half of the names on the docket never showed. The afternoon trial was held over because the witness never appeared, and the lawyers were unorganized and unprofessional.

Three quarters of the charged had their court dates postponed. The quarter that did face the consequences of their actions received the minimum charge.

I was thoroughly disgusted with one case in particular. Ivan C. Beaverbones entered the local dollar store and attempted to steal some batteries. He was drunk and the staff caught him in the act. He had also cut himself and was bleeding all over the building. He received a $100 fine for the theft and another $100 fine for breech of probation, which he received for being drunk. He not supposed to drink and must attend AA meetings every week.

I would have been all right with the sentence had he been a first time offender. Beaverbones has a long list of criminal activity. He's a drunk criminal and even the prosecutor said he expects to see Ivan again real soon. "He's a nuisance and he'll be back." I'm starting to understand the 3-strike rule in California. We need to put some fear into the criminals again. The death sentence doesn't stop people from killing, but I'm sure it has decreased the numbers.
Anyway, Ivan left the courtroom smiling. He has no respect, so why should the average citizen who actually obeys society's rules?

I'm also trying to figure out the relationship between the population of natives in the area and the number that appear in court. There are five times the number on non-native people living in Rocky, but there are about the same amount of natives in court as non-natives. There were five members of the Beaverbones clan, two members of the Goodrunning family, two Redbears among others. I hope this is a Rocky anomaly. If this is the case everywhere, something has to be changed.

I will give them some credit. They all showed up. They know how the system works even if they don't care for it.

I always thought justice was an all powerful being. A godlike figure, who slams his gavel down. Now I believe he is more of a withered, battered old man, who has seen too much and just doesn't care.