[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 53 (Thursday, May 5, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 5, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                             JUST SOLUTIONS

  Mr. BUMPERS. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to my page, 
Rachel Mays, of Little Rock, AR, whose essay placed second in the 1994 
Law Day Essay Competition.
  This contest, sponsored by the D.C. Courts, awarded plaques and U.S. 
savings bonds to the deserving winners. I would like to share with my 
colleagues the text of Rachel's winning essay.
  There being no objection, the essay was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                           ``Just Solutions''

                            (By Rachel Mays)

       The government of the United States is set upon a system of 
     checks and balances. It was designed this way to ensure that 
     all three branches would balance in their share of power. Of 
     the three branches of the government, the judicial branch is 
     the only branch with the power to interpret the Constitution 
     and apply it to situations in our courts today. Some people 
     consider the courts infallible and would not change anything 
     about them. Others consider the judicial system to be full of 
     flaws and in desperate need of repair. Because I have grown 
     up living with the law and the justice system, I have been 
     able to see both the good parts and the bad.
       Both of my parents are involved in the legal profession. My 
     father is a trial lawyer and my mother is a chancery court 
     judge. It is through their professions that I have seen both 
     sides of the judicial system. In my father's many dealings 
     with the courts I have seen that they are often overbooked. 
     Trials are never completed in the time allotted, causing a 
     huge carryover. Because of this inefficiency innocent people 
     are forced to spend countless nights in jail. The courts also 
     handle criminal cases unfairly. Often people who are not 
     guilty are forced to say they committed the crime. Often 
     lawyers convince their clients that the punishment would be 
     less severe if they plead guilty. It is wrong that people 
     who are innocent are charged as guilty because of fear the 
     jury will not believe their case, so why bother. Lawyers 
     should try and be more sensitive to what they are doing 
     instead of trying to move cases as quickly as possible. A 
     last improvement that should be made to the justice system 
     concerns punishment of the guilty. Too often criminals are 
     released with only a slap on the wrist. Jail sentences are 
     almost never served to completion. Dangerous criminals are 
     returned to the street before they have served enough time 
     to be rehabilitated. The court needs to enforce the 
     sentence placed upon someone. If a person is sentenced to 
     life in prison for murder, he or she should spend his or 
     her life in prison. No parole, no time off for good 
     behavior, no suspended sentences.
       There are also many aspects of the judicial system that are 
     in perfect working order. It is through my mother, a judge in 
     the court of the family, that I see the good side of the 
     judicial system. It is through the courts that people are 
     allowed to become husband and wife. My mother has performed 
     numerous weddings. It is through the judicial system that 
     childless couples are able to adopt babies on their own. I 
     have seen all the pictures of proud, new parents with their 
     adopted babies. The final, and most important, positive 
     aspect of America's judicial system is that it is the balance 
     of society. It not only balances the legislative and 
     executive branches of the government, but it also balances 
     our ideas and beliefs in society. The courts are where we 
     turn when we have done wrong or have been wronged against. 
     They are the balance of good and evil. They determine what is 
     good and bad.
       Through my parents' careers in law, I have seen the ups and 
     downs of the judicial system. I understand the viewpoint that 
     the courts often fail the American people. Trials take too 
     long and waste taxpayers' money. The innocent are often found 
     guilty and vice versa. Criminals are set free too soon 
     because of judicial error. I also understand the viewpoint 
     that the courts are invaluable to the American people. 
     Without them we would not have the marriages and adoptions 
     that bring joy to our lives. Most importantly we would have 
     no standard for what is right and wrong. There would be chaos 
     without a system to punish those who have done wrong. The 
     Founding Fathers knew what they were doing. After escaping a 
     despotic government, they wanted to ensure that the laws of 
     their new country would be applied fairly. It is all a 
     balancing act. The judicial system weighs good and bad. 
     Justice is the balanced result.

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