XPost: phl.misc, phl.sports, phl.talk   
   XPost: phl.transportation   
   From: ArtClemons@aolSPAM.com   
      
   Felix Falkon of FelixFalkon@comcast.net wrote:   
      
   > 2. But then, the entire criminal and civil justice system in Pennsylvania   
   > (and the other 49 states) is primarily run for the financial benefit of   
   > the lawyers, from those on the bench on down.   
      
   You're sadly mistaken about the criminal injustice system.  If you check,   
   most folks pleading or going to trial are represented either by public   
   defenders, or private lawyers paid for by the state or county (or some   
   combination of the two).  Lawyers in criminal cases seldom get big fees and   
   indeed the amount of money paid is grossly insufficient for most lawyers to   
   have or keep an office and pay expenses plus live on what comes in.  If you   
   really think there is lots of money in the criminal injustice system, you   
   might want to also research how much assistant prosecutors, assistant DA's   
   or assistant State's Attorneys make per year.  Celebrities tend to get the   
   high priced spread, but the law in celebrity cases is atypical, for one   
   thing, defense attorneys have enough money to research what actually   
   happened and hire expert witnesses.   
      
   As for civil cases, once again, it depends on which area of civil law you're   
   discussing and how said lawyers are paid.   
      
   One final comment, most judges probably are paid less to be a judge than   
   they could make in private practice.  In some locales, a former prosecutor   
   who becomes a judge may get a pay cut and prosecutors don't get the high   
   pay.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)