NCJ Number
148992
Journal
ABA Journal Volume: 80 Dated: (May 1994) Pages: 74-83
Date Published
1994
Length
10 pages
Annotation
Eight citizens voice their views on the problems of the justice system and how they might be addressed.
Abstract
Joan Brown Campbell, general secretary of the National Council of Churches, notes that modern justice is oriented toward a system of values that seeks to give individuals their justice, whether it is a person or corporate entity. This contrasts with the Judeo-Christian value system that is concerned with justice in the context of the community and the common good. According to this religious tradition, the problem facing society in the justice system and in the whole society is the same, that is, how to bring justice to all our citizens. Paul M. Igasaki, executive director of the Asian Law Caucus, argues that the justice system can be a common bond for a diverse society, if it ensures that persons of various backgrounds and cultures are treated equally. United Auto Workers president Owen Bieber believes the law has tilted the collective-bargaining playing field away from organized labor, such that labor and management cannot bargain with equal power. John J. Curley, who heads the Gannett Publishing Co., favors opening the courts to wider public scrutiny; and Susan K. Stewart, former director of a utility watchdog group in Illinois, argues that consumers cannot afford justice in the United States. David K. Voight of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce complains that litigation has become the new national pastime, and Mayor Emanuel Cleaver II of Kansas City, Mo., says that we are expecting more from the justice system than it has delivered. James J. Fyfe, a former police officer, supports a return to "the good old days" when cops walked the beat.