Judicial System

Re “Arguments Against the Judicial System Ignore the Facts,” Ventura County Perspective, Aug. 20.

My career in law enforcement spanned 25 years. During that time I witnessed more than a few judges miss the mark. However Judge Henry J. Walsh has set a new standard for entirely missing the point of Alan J. Peterson’s article on the judicial system.

What if Judge Walsh really believes what he said: “This is not a system that is ‘broken,’ as Peterson contends. It is a system that works very well.”

Dear Judge Walsh, let me give you a few facts. In 1968 we spent less than $500 million on drug interdiction and a measly few thousand nonviolent drug offenders were jailed. Today we spend close to $50 billion, jail more than 450,000 nonviolent offenders and the problems continue to grow. During that long span of time, minorities suffered the wisdom of a system that “works very well.” No wonder when they utter “your honor” acid drips from their tongue.

Peterson was not attacking any specific judge. He was trying to get the system to look just slightly past its judicial nose toward the brink of reality. But Judge Walsh personalized the article as if it had been written just for him and went on a rant about the right to a jury trial, the 6th and 7th amendments, etc. Which of course had nothing to do with what Peterson said.

Give the jurors a break. Call them in, give them pagers and send them on their way. They could all be back in an hour if needed.

NEIL F. COMPTON

Folsom