2010

The Justice We Need The decade culminates. I would question why some things exist as they are? Shaking out the residue of unsolvables are in line for consideration.


Jan 12, 2010 a earthquake magnitude 7.3, hit Haiti. Video is Tuesday Jan 13,2010


The United States and the Haitian Revolution, 1791-1804

The Haitian Revolution created the second independent country in the Americas after the United States became independent in 1783. U.S. political leaders, many of them slaveowners, reacted to the emergence of Haiti as a state borne out of a slave revolt with suspicion, at times providing aid to put down the revolt, and, later in the revolution, providing support to Toussaint L'Ouverture's forces. Due to these shifts in policy and domestic concerns, the United States would not officially recognize Haitian independence until 1862.
Prior to its independence, Haiti was a French colony known as St. Domingue. St. Domingue's slave-based sugar and coffee industries had been fast-growing and successful, and by the 1760s it had become the most profitable colony in the Americas. With the economic growth, however, came increasing exploitation of the African slaves who made up the overwhelming majority of the population. Prior to and after U.S. independence, American merchants enjoyed a healthy trade with St. Domingue.

The French Revolution had a great impact on the colony. St. Domingue's white minority split into Royalist and Revolutionary factions, while the mixed-race population campaigned for civil rights. Sensing an opportunity, the slaves of northern St. Domingue organized and planned a massive rebellion which began on August 22, 1791.

When news of the slave revolt broke out, American leaders rushed to provide support for the whites of St. Domingue. However, the situation became more complex when civil commissioners sent to St. Domingue by the French revolutionary government convinced one of the slave revolt leaders, Toussaint L'Ouverture, that the new French Government was committed to ending slavery. What followed over the next decade was a complex and multi-sided civil war in which Spanish and British forces also intervened.

The situation in St. Domingue put the Democratic-Republican party and its leader, Thomas Jefferson, in somewhat of a political dilemma. Jefferson believed strongly in the French Revolution and the ideals it promoted, but as a Virginia slaveholder popular among other Virginia slaveholders, Jefferson also feared the specter of slave revolt. When faced with the question of what the United States should do about the French colony of St. Domingue, Jefferson favored offering limited aid to suppress the revolt, but also suggested that the slaveowners should aim for a compromise similar to that Jamaican slaveholders made with communities of escaped slaves in 1739. Despite their numerous differences on other issues, Secretary of the Treasury and leader of the rival Federalist Party Alexander Hamilton largely agreed with Jefferson regarding Haiti policy.

The Haitian revolution came to North American shores in the form of a refugee crisis. In 1793, competing factions battled for control of the then-capital of St. Domingue, Cap-Fran'ais (now Cap-Ha'tien.) The fighting and ensuing fire destroyed much of the capital, and refugees piled into French naval ships anchored in the harbor. The French navy deposited the refugees in Norfolk, Virginia. Many refugees also settled in Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York. These refugees were predominantly white, though many had brought their slaves with them. The refugees became involved in migr politics, hoping to influence U.S. foreign policy. Anxieties about their actions, along with those of European radicals also residing in the United States, led to the passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts. The growing xenophobia, along with temporarily improved political stability in France and St. Domingue, convinced many of the refugees to return home.

The beginning of the Federalist administration of President John Adams signaled a change in policy. Adams was resolutely anti-slavery and felt no need to aid white forces in St. Domingue. He was also concerned that L'Ouverture would choose to pursue a policy of state-supported piracy like that of the Barbary States. Lastly, St. Domingue's trade had partially rebounded, and Adams wished to preserve trade links with the colony. Consequently, Adams decided to provide aid to L'Ouverture against his British-supported rivals. This situation was complicated by the Quasi-War with France. L'Ouverture continued to insist that St. Domingue was a French colony even as he pursued an independent foreign policy.

Under President Thomas Jefferson?s presidency, the United States cut off aid to L'Ouverture and instead pursued a policy to isolate Haiti, fearing that the Haitian revolution would spread to the United States. These concerns were in fact unfounded, as the fledgling Haitian state was more concerned with its own survival than with exporting revolution. Nevertheless, Jefferson grew even more hostile after L'Ouverture's successor, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, ordered the execution of whites remaining after the Napoleonic attempts to reconquer St. Domingue and reimpose slavery (French defeat led to the Louisiana Purchase.) Jefferson refused to recognize Haitian independence, a policy to which U.S. Federalists also acquiesced. Although France recognized Haitian independence in 1825, Haitians would have to wait until 1862 for the United States to recognize Haiti's status as a sovereign, independent nation. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/nr/91724.htm

January 14, 2010


HfHN





La. Delta Community College

[They!!]Will Never Understand.

The Justice We Need

Question? Can a white person ever understand, what the deal is with black folk, black men and the police? The answer is no! The quesition was answered in 1973, in that this author, came to the realization they will never understand. And folk, have got to re-do their thoughts since we wanna be post-racial so badly. The entire situation needs to take us to a full re-do of the entire criminal justice system. Is it that the problem is too gargantuan to deal with, or is it "they don't really care about us?" Whose to say?.. Will we dodge this opportunity?.. Will we finally deal with justice - black on black or otherwise?


Ultra-Left?

A Closer Look at closing the Case:If Ever?

The Justice We Need?!?
|19July2009
Final Call article |
Court Documents 26Jun09 | "To be clear. .." What!!? |

Posted on Wed, Jun. 24, 2009
AP Newsbreak: Jena 6 cases near conclusion
MARY FOSTER
The Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS - Five of six black teens accused of beating a white high school classmate in a case that led to the biggest civil rights protest in decades will plead guilty in a deal expected to be finalized this week, Louisiana court officials involved with the case told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The six students were initially charged with attempted murder in the 2006 attack on Justin Barker and became known as the "Jena Six," after the town where the beating took place.

Charges against Carwin Jones, Jesse Ray Beard, Robert Bailey Jr., Bryant Purvis and Theo Shaw were reduced to aggravated second-degree battery.

Court officials, who asked not to be identified because the agreement was not yet public, told the AP that those five will plead to lesser charges Friday but would not be specific. Officials also would not talk about penalties.

A sixth defendant, Mychal Bell, pleaded guilty in December 2007 to a misdemeanor second-degree battery charge and was sentenced to 18 months in jail.

Bill Furlow, a spokesman for LaSalle Parish District Attorney Reed Walters, confirmed the hearing for the remaining five defendants, but said Walters would have no comment.

Bailey's attorney, James Boren, wouldn't confirm the deal but said, "you certainly want to be in court on Friday."

The severity of the original charges brought widespread criticism and eventually led more than 20,000 people to converge in September 2007 on the tiny central Louisiana town of Jena for a major civil rights march.

Racial tensions at Jena High School reportedly grew throughout in the months before the attack. Several months before attack, nooses were hung in a tree on the campus, sparking outrage in the black community. Residents said there were fights, but nothing too serious until December 2006 when Barker was attacked.

Barker was knocked unconscious as the lunch period was ending. He was hit and kicked by the defendants as he lay on the ground, according to court testimony. Pictures from the emergency room show his face was swollen and bloodied, but he was not admitted and was able to attend a school function that same night.

Barker graduated that spring and is now working on an oil rig, according to Henry Lemoine Jr., the attorney representing Barker in the civil cases.

Bell graduated in May and is currently trying to find a college where he could play football, according to his attorney Louis Scott. Bell was considered a top football prospect before the attack and Scott said he was being widely recruited.

Meanwhile, Lemoine said Barker's family agreed on a settlement Wednesday with Bailey, Shaw and Jones.

His family filed a lawsuit in state court against the LaSalle Parish School Board, the parents of the young men accused of beating him and the adult defendants.

"It's not much, but the Barkers are satisfied," Lemoine said. "They believe it's time to put this to bed."

The agreement, according to Lemoine, also provides for Barker to receive the royalties from any account of the incident by any of the defendants.

"If they get funds from any source for anything about the incident within the next five years, we get them," Lemoine said.

The school board has not agreed on a financial settlement, Lemoine said.

(This version CORRECTS Corrects that attack was in 2006. Adds background about the case, where victim is now, quote from one of the defendant's attorneys.) By The Associated Press • June 24, 2009
The Justice We Need?

The freedom from shackles, a sure desire.

The story goes, that exactly two years ago Mychal Bell was convicted in an adult court, which was later overturned. He was re-tried as a juvenile, to which he took a plea. As, Carol Powell-Lexing stated on the Dr. Phil show, referring to [Bell's] prior crimes, “That’s from proceedings that should have remained confidential," Carol replies. "It should not have any bearing upon this current situation.” Most definitely, this is not the justice we need. Could it also be why there is still litigation ongoing concerning media access to the "Bell Files" and remedies for the courts denial of the same, going back to late fall 2007.

La Supreme Ct.-Media access to "Bell Files" Remedies ongoing litigation, filed May 26th 2009. 28th JDC Opposition to Media request filed by Special Assistant to DA Reed Walters June 12th 2009.
Mychal Bell Speaks in Houston May 19, 2009 Bell Audio[mp3] Bell scrimmaging at SUBR.

The Justice We Need

In the AP article above, defendant Bryant

Purvis or his lawyer, is not mentioned.

The contention on his behalf has always

been, he had nothing at all to do with

the incident on the campus in Dec

2006.

March 20, 2009: Plea agreements possible in remaining 'Jena Six' cases.By Abbey Brown • abrown@thetowntalk.com

Attempts to bring resolution to the remaining five "Jena Six" cases continue in the form of discussions on possible plea agreements, attorneys involved in the case say. David Utter, one of the attorneys representing Jesse Ray Beard, said there has been an "ongoing conversation" about a plea agreement throughout the case, which is now more than 2 years old.

That conversation continued Wednesday during a status conference in Jena before 9th Judicial District Judge Thomas Yeager and all the parties involved in both the civil and criminal cases, except the defendants. Yeager, from Rapides Parish, was appointed as judge after now-retired 28th Judicial District Judge J.P. Mauffray was recused in August for an "appearance of impropriety."

Beard, Robert Bailey Jr., Carwin Jones, Bryant Purvis and Theo Shaw are the remaining defendants in the case in connection with the attack on then-Jena High student Justin Barker on Dec. 4, 2006.

Mychal Bell pleaded guilty nearly a year later to a juvenile second-degree battery charge and was sentenced to 18 months in the state's custody, which was placement with a Monroe foster family.

The Jena Six case drew the nation's attention and much criticism as many claimed the six teens -- originally charged with attempted murder -- were charged too harshly because they are black and the victim is white.

According to witness statements and police reports, the six defendants are accused of hitting Barker, knocking him unconscious, and then kicking him while he was lying on the ground. The four remaining adult defendants each are facing a charge of aggravated second-degree battery, while details about Beard's case aren't known as it is a juvenile proceeding.
More than 20,000 people came to the community of Jena -- with a population of about 3,000 -- for a rally on Sept. 20, 2007.

That rally has been categorized by some as the biggest civil rights demonstration in decades.

"We talked with everybody to try to resolve this case," Utter said of the status conference. "This is an old, hard case that everyone wants to resolve. ... The defense has always been wiling to reach a resolution that is both acceptable to the Barkers and addressed the differing circumstances of each of the defendants."

The next status conference in the case is set for May 8 in Jena.

Utter stressed that he thinks the defendants' individual situations need to be considered in possible plea agreements.
"Each of these kids is different," he said. "Jesse Ray (Beard) is a juvenile. That's a distinction that matters. We are trying to get individual treatment for each of the defendants."

Judge Ronald Lewellyan was appointed on Monday to hear the civil suit filed by Barker's family in 2007 against the LaSalle Parish School Board, the parents of the defendants and members of the Jena Six. No hearing dates have been set in the matter.

After Wednesday's status conference, a mediation was held to discuss a possible resolution to the civil suit. But Henry Lemoine, the attorney representing the Barkers, said that discussion went nowhere.

"I thought that the civil case would have some chance of resolution," he said. "It turns out, no one came to the table with any money. They all had a lot of hot air, but no money."

Lemoine said they are asking for Barker's medical costs and compensation for injuries.

"I started the mediation at $187,000," he said, pointing out that the family still has more than $18,700 in unpaid medical bills. "They started at zero, so the mediation didn't last long. I went there in good faith; I thought they did too. But it is not in good faith when your response is, 'We don't have any money.' I'm not happy with them."

Culture Breakdown

The Justice We Need is fleeting. And so we now embark on another journey. The infinite only knows what is the end of this journey. Recent events in the last several years are conclusively indicative of persistent problems in the american judicial system. Inadequate assistance of counsel for indigents, unequal justice & judicial bias.
If we thought wrongful convictions were an acceptable part of the process as individuals, we probably couldn't sleep at night. Yet our judicial system is operated on a concept that some persons will be incarcerated who are innocent of the crime they are locked away for.

The fact of the matter is, the system is over run with more than it can handle. If some are not hussled through the system, nothing would ever get done. So, those without are taking the hardest licks. What must occur to correct these problems?


26Jun2009
What?!!! 'to be clear'. "To be clear, not one of us heard
Justin use any slur or say anything that justified
Mychal Bell attacking Justin nor did any of us see
Justin do anything that would cause Mychal to react."

|YIS| Directly in front of church door

2010 VH1 Hip Hop Honors |Hip Hop Rally Machine |Hip Hop Honors Video

The State of Justice

What above all else is eroding public confidence in the nation’s judicial system is the perception that litigation is just a game, that the party with the most resourceful lawyer can play it to win, that our seemingly interminable legal proceedings are wonderfully self-perpetuating but incapable of delivering real-world justice.
Nor is Justice Scalia’s observation original. Almost 100 years ago, another man wrote this: “Judges march at times to pitiless conclusions under the prod of a remorseless logic which is supposed to leave them no alternative. They deplore the sacrificial rite. They perform it, nonetheless, with averted gaze, convinced as they plunge the knife that they obey the bidding of their office. The victim is offered up to the gods of jurisprudence on the altar of regularity.” Like Scalia, he too was a judge. Benjamin N. Cardozo, “The Growth of the Law” (1924).

It is a given that most of our judges are terrific in every way — qualified, fair, interested in justice as well as law. But the Caperton case nevertheless illustrates a sad reality about judges. And that is that some judges have become so removed from the real world, their senses of justice and common sense have become dulled — not from misuse, but from disuse. Justice matters little (or not) to some of them.
If you want proof, look right and left. One California Court of Appeal Justice has announced publicly that she is not there to do justice, but instead only to follow (and shape) the law. Her court’s Web site is emblazoned with the motto, “Striving for Justice,” but nevermind. The words carved into the façade of the Supreme Court building itself are “Equal Justice Under Law,” but nevermind. Indeed, one of that building’s admired occupants wrote: “I hate justice, which means that I know if a man begins to talk about that, for one reason or another he is shirking thinking in legal terms.” The author was Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
Is hatred of justice a quality to be admired in a judge? I say no, but there it is for all to see. Judges are steeped in the law and should be. But too much steeping dissolves justice until it disappears. Justice gets lost sometimes, and judges are the ones who lose it. Why should we care? Because it kills public trust in the system in which we have so much invested.