Shooting From the Hip - What Passes for Justice in Vegas

I found this fascinating article, and I thought I'd share. It's an exploration of just one Vegas judge, who has a history of using his connections to make his friends rich. He's endemic of the system, and I thought it a pretty good run down of some of the problems facing, not just Vegas/Nevada, but the nation as a whole.

Some of these judges think they're King Kong, and the people who suffer are invariably those without the power to match them at their own game.

Link

In this town, people speak reverently of having juice, or an "in," and Mahan — bearded, likable but sometimes caustic — has made it a striking feature in his courtroom. First as a state judge and now as a federal judge, he has approved more than $4.8 million in judgments and fees during more than a dozen cases in which a recent search of court records found no statement that he disclosed his relationships with those who benefited from his decisions.

On the state bench for three years, and since his appointment as a U.S. District Court judge four years ago by President Bush, Mahan has approved many of these fees for Swarts, a certified public accountant who had served as his judicial campaign treasurer and whose political connections got him appointed. Mahan approved additional fees for Frank A. Ellis III, 51, a former law partner with whom the judge still owned property and participated in a profit-sharing plan. Ellis also provided free legal services for Mahan's family and for his executive judicial assistant.

Mahan, like a number of Las Vegas judges, has taken on cases despite state and federal prohibitions against such apparent conflicts. Some Las Vegas judges have ruled in cases involving their friends, even those to whom they owe money.

Now, this goes on everywhere. Every country, every state, almost without exception. Favor-trading is as old as human society.

But we hold judges to a much higher standard, because we give them an enormous amount of power (ostensibly for the common good). Of all the states, Nevada is not the worst. Although, since Katrina swept NO into the sea, Nevada may very well be a contender for the top spot, right up there with Texas and Mississippi.

This one man is the tip of a very stinky iceberg. I encourage anyone interested to delve a little deeper, and come to some sort of understanding about where this is leading us, and why.

It certainly is not for the common good...

It certainly does not build faith in the justice system. I think personally that any public figure in a position of power like that who is caught handing out favors to people instead of being fair and neutral should be jailed for life. I feel it is dangerous to a free society and a sane world to have people like that.

And it really can create alot of problems. If people have no faith in the justice system, they are going to be more likely to take the law into their own hands, which could cause a breakdown of society.

Originally posted by Skadi_the_Evil_Elf
If people have no faith in the justice system, they are going to be more likely to take the law into their own hands, which could cause a breakdown of society.

It's already happening, and if the sheeple get disturbed, then it'll all go KaBooM!