Not Perfect, But It Beats Lawlessness

On May 1, Law Day, all sorts of activities are planned inside the Cape May County Superior Court building on North Main Street, Court House.
What’s the big deal? Law Day. To be specific, it will mark the 51st anniversary of the day proclaimed in 1958 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to reinforce the concept that this is a nation of laws.
To say that we are enthusiastic about Law Day may be pressing the matter just a tad, but recent world events must make us appreciate what we have. Pirates are taking to the high seas, holding vessels for ransom off the coast of lawless Somalia.
Lawless, imagine that! Get your mind around that for just a fleeting moment.
That means anyone with a gun, knife or who is bigger and stronger than you gets to impress his way upon you. Why? Because there are no laws that prohibit such action.
To say I’ve been enthusiastic about the outcome of many court cases would be a lie. Frankly, in some cases, I shake my head and wonder what it might meant. Society seems to be in shambles.
We see too often miscarriages of justice on all levels, local, state, national. We wonder what some judges must have been thinking as they imposed the sentences that they did on criminals. Unless they were acting as renegades, those who wore judicial robes had to contain their actions within statutes set forth by their municipality, state or nation. While there may be some latitude, in many cases, there are none.
How often have we read that a judge, on sentencing day, says something to this effect to a convict: “Based on the crime you have committed, if I could, I would sentence you to prison for the rest of your life without parole, but I cannot, based on the law?”
I also believe that justice, while supposedly blindfolded for impartial reasons, often goes to the person with the deepest pockets to pay the most expert attorney. It is not supposed to be that way, I know, but the facts of life speak louder.
Sometimes, it may appear that the laws of the land are in need of repair, and yes, there are many laws that ought to be fashioned anew. Still, they are better than no laws at all.
When we were young, those of us who grew up on a black-and-white television diet of cowboy shows seemed to be taught a divided message: Justice always prevails. The guy in the white cowboy hat with the sparkling gun with silver bullets would always get the upper hand on the bad guy, who usually wore a black hat.
On one hand, we were led to believe that “gun justice” was first and “legal justice” was the distant backbone, even in the middle of the Wild West deserts. When the circuit-riding judge came to town, the law was followed and debts were paid, sometimes at the end of a rope.
Today, we are constrained by a profusion of laws. Some, for the most part, are never or are seldom, enforced, “wipers on, lights on” is a good one, another is chattering on a cell phone while driving, a third is passing a school bus with its red flashing lights activated.
Our prisons are increasingly filled with culprits who are there because the crimes they committed gave a judge no latitude other than to send them up the river for, say, five years. Yes, time on the inside funded by tax dollars.
I saw a figure that indicated there are more incarcerated Americans than at any other time in our history. A still more astounding figure was that the United States has harsher laws for crimes that, in other countries, would not land a person behind bars.
With all these harsh laws, are we safer than if there were no laws? Do prisons work to rehabilitate those within their walls?
We have laws, but there are many who ignore them, admittedly to their own peril. Take for instance temporary and final restraining orders in cases of domestic violence. If everyone played by the rules, and respected rights of others, of course there would be no need for such orders.
The world is not perfect, never was, never will be. While many abide by those orders, how often have we read that a domestic partner ignored such a restraining order and took a life or lives?
Yes, we have gun laws, but when was the last time someone with the intent to rob a store went through legal channels to obtain a “Saturday night special” used to wound or kill a victim in a holdup? Have you seen that bumper sticker, “When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns?”
Regardless of all its frailties and failings, the law provides us with a nation that remains the idol of many others. Consider that, because of the rule of law, on Jan. 20, in Washington, D.C., a smooth, bloodless transition of power took place in the highest office in the nation. Would the same have taken place in Somalia or many other countries around the globe?
We do not have to agree with the law; all we have to do is abide by it. If we have differing interpretations, and those bring us into confrontation with an adversary, the court is where the dispute should be taken, not settled with a revolver pointed to settle a grievance.
Should the prospect of Law Day entice you, the Cape May County Bar Association will be holding the first ever Cape May County Law Fair on May 1 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Cape May County Superior Court, 9 N. Main St. The public is welcome. Light refreshments will be served.
Activities will include an award ceremony and reception for the 2009 Cape May County High School Mock Trial Champions, Lower Cape May Regional High School; three free legal presentations; and tables featuring attorneys, county agencies and departments, and court personnel.
Nothing that resembles that celebration is planned in Mogadishu, Somalia. Perhaps a visit to that nation would be educational for those who don’t see the value of laws or Law Day.