As I mentioned before on this blog, I am going to publish my proposals for the upcoming 2017 Constitutional Convention and subsequent referendum as to how to change the New York State Constitution.
Here are my first proposals:
1. To mandate public legal education in high school. That will at least alleviate the need for attorneys in court representation and will bridge the gap between the "presumption of knowledge of the law" by the public and arcane and complicated legal rules that require an expensive interpreter (a licensed attorney) to explain to that same public.
2. To require that rules of law must be written in clear and simple language and rely on concepts taught in public schools, so that the presumption of notice and knowledge of those laws to be valid. What we have now are laws that even lawyers and judges cannot agree upon, split hairs in interpreting them, and punish each other for interpreting them incorrectly.
3. To allow any person to represent any other person in court. Access to courts is already guaranteed by the 1st Amendment (petitions clause) of the Federal Constitution, it must be secured by people's right to retain anybody they trust, not only expensive licensed attorneys practically imposed upon the public by the government, to represent their interests in court.
Independence of such court representatives from government regulation is key.
Quality of services of such representatives will be quickly regulated by the market - lawsuits for breach of contracts, malpractice, breach of fiduciary duty or fraud. Such causes of action are already on the books.
At this time, the majority of New Yorkers cannot afford services of licensed attorneys, and those who can, do not receive independent (and thus efficient) representation by such attorneys, because livelihood of such attorneys depends on the very government whose conduct attorneys may have the duty to their clients in challenging.
4. To allow and make it a duty (like a jury duty) of EVERY person to serve as a judge on a rotational basis.
This will eliminate dynasties of "blue blood attorneys", eliminate the virtual necessity of attorneys to "build relationships" with judges, prevent judges from building relations with the local legal elite and assign themselves to cases of their enemies with purposes of retaliation and thus will dramatically reduce corruption in court proceedings.
5. To make judicial duty compensable at the lowest level, like jury duty, and make the citizen-judge "serve", like jurors do now, on a case-by-case basis only. This will reduce the burden on the economy by judicial salaries, benefits and retirement packages.
6. To eliminate all types of immunities for governmental officials acting in excess of their authority and in violation of written statutory law and state and federal Constitutions.
7. To allow legal representation at public expense of public officials sued for excess of power in office, but to require compensation of value of such services if the public official in question is found by a court to have acted in excess of his duties in office.
8. To prohibit payments of settlements in lawsuits for misconduct of public officials out of public funds.
9. To introduce "citizen grand juries" callable by a petition of citizens and self-controlled, with authority to engage independent experts of the law for consultation purposes only.
I will continue to publish my proposals to change the New York State Constitution - both new and updated proposals from the above list if I decide to amend them.
Feedback from readers is welcome, as always.
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