I am in the midst of a minor proceeding that follows a major trial.
The trial took six weeks and had a lead up of three years intense legal work by top Canadian lawyers.
The net result was a carefully written judgment that analysed the law fully.
Oh, and both parties to the lawsuit went bankrupt.
Voltaire is supposed to have said 'I was ruined twice. Once when I lost a lawsuit. The other time when I won a lawsuit'.
It seems the legal system has been a bad way to resolve disputes for a long time -- witness Bleak House.
There has to be a better way to deal with problems in society. I appreciate the law puts bread on my table but it seems to seldom do society as a whole much good.
Yes, there are great triumphs of liberty that come from lawsuits. The Persons Case, where women were recognised as full Canadian citizens, is an obvious example. But those cases seem to follow society's lead -- desegregation was coming to America regardless of Brown v Board of Education. And how often are lawsuits tools of oppression by the powerful over the poor or just middle class (I have seen it -- it's not so uncommon)?
Perhaps I am overly bleak but I wonder, isn't there something we can do to make the justice system work better?
James Morton
1100 - 5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
3 comments:
You wrote:
"Perhaps I am overly bleak but I wonder, isn't there something we can do to make the justice system work better?"
Seeing as you are a lawyer & appear to have been in the system for some time do you have any ideas on how to improve the system?
Being just a regular person I have no idea(s) on how to make changes & what improvements are sorely needed.
Sounds like you've just had a bad day. Ever heard the expression "don't bite the hand that feeds you"?
You need to win a seat in Parliament so you can help reform the Justice system from the inside. Get your feet wet as an MP, perhaps on the opposition side, then when your party is in power, become Minister of Justice.
I know other regulatory groups or professional organizations representing the legal profession also bring out change (at least, the change that is in their scope) and I know you have been a big part of that. Don't be too down on the state of things. I'm sure the amount of change required seems overwhelming and daunting, however, as the CTO of the company I work for says "the only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time"
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