The News Swami

Ah, where to begin?

Comes a letter from Fredric Bryan Lesser, the president of the Lake County Bar Association. And ooh boy, is he bent out of shape.

As you recall, the series of stories suggested that the legal system wasn’t doing as much as it could to protect the victims and punish the bad guys. Lesser (Is he the Lesser of two evils?) is really hot. So we’ve added a few questions in reply.

His letter in excerpts:

The Lake County Bar Association which represents over 900 lawyers exists to advance the highest standards of justice in Lake County. Recently, the Lake County News-Sun expressed its view that our courts are not concerned about justice in deciding sexual abuse cases involving minors. The conclusion/criticisms of this paper on this subject could not be more wrong. (No, the series actually suggested the system was not doing as much as it should. Lesser’s argument is one of those straw man positions in which you set up an easily defeated bad idea and then proceed to mow it down).

Cases involving child abuse are some of the most troubling in the criminal justice system. Just as no two children are alike, neither are any two cases, nor the families involved in them. (Ah, here comes the “families don’t want us to prosecute” position.)

In its articles and editorials, the newspaper wrote anecdotally about several isolated cases out of hundreds of cases annually investigated within Lake County. Cases where the accused was sentenced to less than the maximum allowed by law, or where the victim’s families were upset with the sentence. Do some of those cases exist? Of course. (Isn’t this how Donald Rumsfeld used to talk by answering his own questions and then minimizing how dumb the question was? Thje next word is almost always However)

However, victims of sexual abuse and their families have the right to be treated and are treated with dignity in Lake County. Further, the Lake County judicial system is at the forefront of respecting those rights. (I'm told that reporters for the series looked for lots of people involved in the cases and couldn’t find any that were happy with how they were treated. Maybe they exist. But way too many people show up to talk about how the system doesn’t work).

Over 20 years ago, Lake County was the second jurisdiction in the United States to open a Children’s Advocacy Center. The Center is a multi-disciplinary agency under the State’s Attorney that brings together DCFS, law enforcement, prosecutors, and child protection services in a child-friendly environment to work with children who have been sexually or severely physically abused. It was created under the leadership of then- State’s Attorney and now-Circuit Judge Fred Foreman, and has served as a model for countless jurisdictions across the country. In all the articles, why was there not one word about this important facility? (Interesting, but not actually germane to the issue. Stories didn’t talk about evil motives. Only a system that didn’t work as well as poeple have a right to expect. Maybe there’s a big story about how the state’s attorney running such an operation is actually involved in a conflict of interest. Child advocates are very antsy about talking freely about that well-meant operation and some say they feel stifled because the state’s attorney controls the agency’s resources, and they can't really afford to cross him?)

Hundreds of cases of child abuse are investigated and prosecuted in Lake County each year. Many of those children cannot or will not testify in court against their abuser. Many of their parents urge the State’s Attorney to do the best they can without forcing the case to trial; in other words, agree to a guilty plea for the defendant. Many of these cases involve an adult family member of the child, such as a parent. In many of those cases, the victim’s family is also the offender’s family, and do not want the offender to go to prison. Also, many victims request not to be forced to testify against a parent or other family member, and actively want the State’s Attorney to agree to a plea negotiation, even for probation. (In what other sorts of cases do we let the families decide if a crime against a child will be punished? Sure, families may not want Uncle George prosecuted for raping a niece, but why would that interest be supported by a prosecutor? If one family member kills another, no one asks the family if they want the guy punished. When did the law become a consensus-building democracy for those involved in the felony)
Facts are stubborn things, but simply leaving out inconvenient facts from a so-called “news story” is irresponsible. The oath witnesses take in court is to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Choosing to tell only part of the truth just doesn’t cut it. (A so-called "news story"? Surely a bigtime lawyer you can do better than that lame cliche. We feel like someone is playing the “Star Spangled Banner” or maybe “Nearer My God To Thee” in the background.)

This paper in its reporting in its series “Too Young for Justice” ignores a basic legal tenet that defendants who plead or who are found guilty must be sentenced in accordance with the law based on the evidence presented in court. By reporting on a few isolated assertions expressed outside the courtroom from family members of a victim or from politicians who want to change the current law does not represent responsible reporting of community opinion. (Maybe prosecutors should work harder to make the toughest sentence and not worry about having the Bar Association wipe their noses for them. when anyone criitisizes. And by the way, is the Bar Association arguing on behalf of lawyers who try to convict predators or lawyers who are trying to turn them free? Maybe the newspaper is just advocqaing for children and doesn't care what lawyers think)

A newspaper has the right to print almost whatever it likes, complete or not, objectively or otherwise (Well, that’s sort of a rude, isn’t it? Or maybe they have a right to report what the Bar Association would prefer they should not report.)

And it is lawyers and judges who will defend their right to do so. But people who know better have the responsibility to speak truthfully and set the record straight. (Well, then argue the facts. Which facts were wrong? Problem with this defense is that the reporters who did the stories literally went through every felony brought before the bar in the Lake County in an entire year. They found the AVERAGE sentence for abusing a child is less than 3 years. That’s enough for the Bar Association? If it’s not enough for the bar, shouldn’t the bar seek to get tougher sentences? Maybe raise the bar? And by the way, when did the Bar Association become the arbiter of what’s good and what’s bad? It has no other real function than to serve the interest of its members.)

The Lake County justice system is one of the best in the nation and does not systematically ignore the rights of young victims in court. (Says you. Not everyone feels that way. In fact, quite a few popele feel quite the contrary. But kettiung lawyer decide of lawyers are doibg good work like letting the cows testify about the quality of their milk? Of course, lawyers say what they do is just fine. But the justice system isn’t the property of lawyers. It’s for the citizens. It belongs to the people, some of whom will have views that do not agree with the lawyers.)

To suggest otherwise, as this paper has done, intentionally attempts to persuade readers to have diminished confidence in our justice system and represents irresponsible journalism. (Telling the truth is not irresponsible. Trying to stifle the truth because it interferes with the self interest of lawyers is irresponsible.)

On behalf of over 900 lawyers who practice in Lake County, (Seems to Swami like way too many lawyers) hopefully this response will be published and prominently reported upon so that this paper’s readership will not remain misinformed on how sex offenders are criminally punished and how victims are treated within our county. (Well, you’ve argued the stories were wrong. So they know you don’t like the stories. They didn’t expect that you would. But evidence? What’s your evidence? Which of the cases they identified is misstated?).

Fredric Bryan Lesser
President, Lake County Bar Association