Thursday, November 11, 2010

Small Town DA Mark Hurlbert

There is a lot going on in our small town. If you have ever lived in a small town you will understand the problems with the small town justice system. It is backwards. It makes me think of the song by Vicki Lawrence or more recently performed by Reba,'The Night the Lights Went out in Georgia." The accountablity for our DA seems a little weak. They are able to convince the victims to plea lesser charges so they don't have to go to trial. And most victims are so new to lawyer mumbo jumbo that they trust too easily. Why would a DA's office care so little about justice? Probably because they are not capable of winning any case that takes some thought and preparation. I can only guess.

Jennie has seen it first hand through her situation (I will let her share when she is ready). The Deputy DA tried to plea her case and the plea was ridiculous. That is when she realized that she needed her own lawyer. What we all quickly learned is the DA does not represent the victim. He represents the state and really doesn't have any interest in the victim. I am sure not all District Attorneys handle cases this way, but Mark Hurlbert does.

Mark Hurlbert was the DA prosecuting Kobe Bryant. Victim had to get her own lawyer in that case too. The recent case in the news of the hit and run accident. Later the driver of the car was caught trying to hide the evidence. The plea is a silly misdemeanor. And again the victim had to get his own lawyer. Another case of a teacher having relations with a student. The DA tried to make that one go away too, until the parents of the victim were forced to hire a lawyer.

I am sure there are many more cases out there. I am sure if this small town dug a little deeper they would uncover a very ugly underbelly of our small town justice system.

Just needed to vent a little....