Justice is Crucial: Linked To Everyday Life

Tonight at youth club we heard the parable of the Rich Fool. Basically, there is a rich farmer, and he gets a lot of profit from his crops. So, he decided to sit down, and eat, drink and be merry. So God tells him he is a fool, and says he will die the very next day.

I’m actually eclectic (that means you take bits from different religions and piece together your own sort of faith). So, I’m part Christian, part Buddhist and part Pagan, if you want to think of it as parts. And possibly part Potterhead, cuz Potterism can be counted as a faith.

ANYWAY: WHY IS THIS LINKED TO SAVEUKJUSTICE AND NOTOPCT? I think we can link everything we do, everything we hear, to justice. Because, what I get from this story is not to be greedy, of course, but also, that we need to think about what we do. God gave him his shot at life, so I guess a chance to redeem himself by donating his money or crops, but he didn’t. Let’s call that indirect justice. Like, justice without some-one hearing you out. The farmer had a chance. But he did bad, and was a fool, so God had him die the next day.

My actual point of this post is that we can see justice in everything we do, whether we are schoolgirls, solicitors, teachers, members of the public, badgers or something like actors and singers. Justice is everywhere. That’s why it’s so crucial; if there was no justice, a lot of things would be different. Because even auditions could be counted as justice; the one who deserves it the most gets the role. In court, the one who wins gets the justice. At school, the one who argues could win if they are right or lie, or could lose for answering back. I’ve been in 2 of those 3 situations. I haven’t been in court, of course, but I’ve auditioned and been in situations at school.

So, we need justice just for this world to process. In everything we do, there is justice somewhere. It could be anything, but it’s somewhere. And we can’t deny it. So, Mr. Grayling, why don’t you just destroy the worlds’ systems. You do that. Not that it’s gonna happen, because #saveukjustice is gonna win. Yep. GONNA. Not COULD.

And on that rather childish note, goodnight. Stay tuned for a longer post on Sunday!

Charli 

More Stuff On The Magna Carta- Magna Carta Day- SaveUKJustice

Today is Magna Carta Day. The Magna Carta ws signed 800yrs ago today. So I figured I'd look into it further. 

I've touched on the Magna Carta a few times. 

In one post, I look at one of the clauses:-
  "So, I know that Mr. Grayling has breached a part of the Magna Carta. At school we did the Magna Carta, in History, but only studied the very main points. One of the bits we looked at was "justice will be given without delays or bribes". This isn't the exact part Mr. Grayling has breached, but this links in. Justice should always be given to a person who deserves it, with no delays, and justice should not be given to those who are guilty. That's not a complicated thing, is it? But if these big companies like Stobart take over, they will probably give justice unfairly. Mr. Grayling doesn't seem to have thought about this. I say probably, because we don’t know. But that’s just one point, right?" - Another clause was "we will not deny any man either Justice or Right" which goes to show that Mr. Grayling is literally undoing history. If he gets this proposal introduced, he will not only destroy justice, he will unravel 800 years worth of history. 

Because, the Magna Carta changed justice and society forever. If King John had refused to sign it, there probably wouldn't be any justice. There would be no need for lawyers or solicitors. Royal officials would make all the decisions for us. Favouritism, biasty, call it what you want That's what would happen. There could be bribery, too (shown in other para). No fairness. It seems that Mr. Grayling wants this to happen. I don't think he's thought out the long-term effects, personally. 

Last post, I wrote this...

"During this time period, the Magna Carta was also introduced. This says a lot about justice because King John wasn't giving anyone justice without delays or bribes, or with a fair trial. So when the Magna Carta was put together, they made sure to put a lot about justice into it. It is said that King John didn't actually READ the Magna Carta properly, which would explain why he actually signed it. Though, if he'd read it and not signed it, there would be no justice now. But wait! Oh yes, Mr. Grayling could throw the Magna Carta out of the window, couldn't he."- This seems to have reigned true, for Mr Grayling doesn't seem to want to amend anything. I mean, why wouldn't he want to be the one to go back on 800 odd years of history? Who wouldn't want to be hated throughout children's history books for years to come?

Actually, side thought: maybe Mr. Grayling is doing this to be in history. He breaks down history, then changes it. I think there should be a new version of the story about this, you know. Mr Grayling the evil lion....?

Back to the Magna Carta. The Magna Carta also says things about taxes and the church. Half of which have possibly already been broken. One is: taxes will not be changed without the barons and bishops agreeing so (not these exact words). This has basically been broken, but not in the same way; we no longer have barons, and bishops are placed differently in society now, so technically it has not been broken; it has been changed around due to a change in society. 

(The Magna Carta is one of my favourite bits of history, it really interests me, so I have written quite a bit on it throughout these last posts, sorry if that annoys anyone)

I actually feel for Mr. Grayling, in an odd sort of way. If this all goes through, in kid words, he's gonna get hated on. And look at we at #saveukjustice and #notopct are doing to him! He must feel so small, like a little slug when they get salted. Weird analogy. Sorry. 

So there we are. Happy Magna Carta Day, even though it's not like a holiday or anything, like Christmas. Ah well. Whatever. 

Charli

Justice: Slight Rant From a 12YO's Perspective... (SaveUKJustice)

I'm gonna rant in this post.Just a warning. About many, many things to do with justice.

To start of with, no, I'm not a lawyer. Nor a solicitor. I barely know ANYTHING compared to most people involved with this. BUT you know what? I am a very, very mature and passionate girl. So that's the first point STRAIGHT OFF: I might not know a lot, but when I know something, I know something. 

So, History is one of my favourite subjects. I'm doing a new project, about how life differed between the start of the Middle Ages to the end. I've been looking into the Feudal System as a part of this. When we did it earlier this year, we didn't explore it too much, only what happened, not what it affected. I realised that part of it was sort of justice, because the peasants didn't get a lot, whereas the barons did. Was this fair? Not really. For those of you who don't know, the feudal system said that the barons had to supply the king with the knights for 40 days a year, the knights had to serve those 40 days and the peasants had to do whatever anyone told them to do, in short. The barons got the most land, the knights less, and the peasants the least. The king's own promise was to God. So, there wasn't a lot of justice in this system. Justice is more about fair trial to me, I guess, but no-one had any choice, and if they didn't fulfil their promise they were consequenced.
During this time period, the Magna Carta was also introduced. This says a lot about justice because King John wasn't giving anyone justice without delays or bribes, or with a fair trial. So when the Magna Carta was put together, they made sure to put a lot about justice into it. It is said that King John didn't actually READ the Magna Carta properly, which would explain why he actually signed it. Though, if he'd read it and not signed it, there would be no justice now. But wait! Oh yes, Mr. Grayling could throw the Magna Carta out of the window, couldn't he. 

Which brings me to my next point: The Ministry of Justice. Why the heck is Mr. Grayling the Lord Chancellor? He doesn't really seem to have thought this out much. I mean, the proposal is messed up, and very obviously isn't needed. I mean, it's pretty badly written. Then, the MoJ in general. Just look at the response they sent when we got enough signatures that they were forced to reply to us. But enough on thay response, if you want to read about my take on that, read it here.  

So, next, remember I was saying what JUSTICE means to me? It naturally means different stuff to different people, but some people's thoughts are completely bi-polar. I can't say bi-polar to the actual definition, cuz technically there isn't an ACTUAL  definition, it's one of those things that's on opinion, but when I have some-one tell me it's being accused for something, I know they either 1) don't understand what I'm talking about or 2) are a Mr. Chris Grayling. 

Another one of my various points is the fact that the MoJ doesn't seem to be doing a lot. They put the consultation out. Released a few documents and a response paper. THEN, loads of people, lawyers, solicitors, some badgers and me, send out letters, tweet to death, rally, and I don't even want to count the amount of blog posts there are on #saveukjustice out there. I mean, I don't expect them to come out when 1000 odd people are protesting, but you think they would do something. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe they shouldn't. Don't look at me, I'm only 12, like I say, I don't know everything. I would think Mr. Grayling would be quaking in his boots by now, we're at 88k. Only 12k to go and we get into Parliament. 

Next up is my theory on CHILDHOOD. Mr. Grayling must have had a different childhood to how I've grown up. I, and I'm sure many others, have grown up learning that there should always be justice, no racism, rights, free speech, no sexism. You shouldn't judge, and people are innocent before proven guilty. I was bought up like that, and I'm proud of that. Look where that's gotten me. But Mr. Grayling's parents obviously had very diverse views or they didn't teach him well enough. I wonder if they know that their son could reverse 800 years of history and destroy justice. 
   Cuz personally, I think a person's childhood affects their life. Education, upbringing, environment, religion, opinions, and things like this. Me, I'm going to be a very passionate, opinionated woman that fights for what she wants, and wants to give back to the world what's it's given me. Others, such as Mr. Grayling, must have not grown up like that, or just have forgotten all of the simple stuff. 

I also think that Mr. Grayling must be quite independent. I wonder how much input others had on this, or if he just decided on it without thinking about the common sense factors first. I put in a Tweet a while ago: "I wonder how many staff in the MoJ actually disagree with Grayling but can't say anything in fear of losing their job" and I seriously do think there will be staff inside of the MoJ that think Mr. Grayling is off his rocker (which, frankly, he is...) and has no sense, common or otherwise. 

In my response, I wrote:
 

"Justice should be given according to necessary times when it is needed, urgent or less urgent, not according to who is first on the register due to when their birthday is or their surname. In school, the person first on the register gets the "best sweets" or something because they are lucky to have the first spot on the register. This is the same principle- a person shouldn't get justice before another due to name. Therefore cases should be on their urgency, not due to the provider, name or birthday. I understand that when I reference to schooling here I sound childish, but I am a child, though mature, and this is how I understand this part of the proposal- it is a very similar situation." 
      Like I say within this small piece of my response, I do sound childish, but when doing something like this, I, like many others, relate to the situation. The questions on the consultation response paper were hard for me to understand, I answered what I could. The situation is similar; I personally cannot believe the consultation even thinks about putting people before others because of their surname or birthday, it should be on urgency. 

I found this quote online:
I'm for truth, no matter who tells it. I'm for justice, no matter who it's for or against. -Malcolm X (who I study next year!)
      This quote says it all for me, really. That's my opinion in a nutshell. Truth and justice are very important to me. Obviously not to Mr. Grayling.  

I think Mr. Grayling's main problem is thinking about the future. I'm not a psychic, and I don't think he is either, but I can see that it's gonna affect the future  A LOT. It could be BEDLAM! I mean come on, people could get away from something, some-one might need a restraining order who doesn't get one, a lot could happen. Because ACTUALLY, legal aid basically makes sure Britain doesn't blow up or anything like that. OK, that's not quite it. But you know, it stops a lot of things from happening again. Parliament? Parliament is more changing stuff as opposed to stopping it. 

That is the end of my rant. I hope it gave you a lot to think about, because I certainly did whilst writing it. My question for you today: WHY is justice important to YOU? Not anyone else. YOU. Cuz if you're a lawyer, your answer will be different to mine. I'll tell you my answer next time. 

Charli

P.S This is the longest post I've ever done! Just over 1,300 words!!

What Justice Means To Me (SaveUKJustice)

A few days ago, we were in a lesson, and someone said something wasn't fair. One of the girls said "that's justice, stupid". Ignoring the "stupid" bit, I put some thought into this statement. To me, it wasn't exactly justice; because she got punished for something she didn't do, and didn't get a fair trial. Well, at school it's less of a fair trial than trying to concede to the teacher in question. But then, to be completely honest, with most teachers you keep quiet and take it. 

Back to the whole justice thing. This girl that said it was justice was wrong, to me. Because there was no justice for this girl. So, it was more of false accusation. 

DICTIONARY DEFINITION:

1. the quality of being just; righteousness, equitableness, or moral rightness: to uphold the justice of a cause.

2. rightfulness or lawfulness, as of a claim or title; justness of ground or reason: to complain with justice.

3. the moral principle determining just conduct.

4. conformity to this principle, as manifested in conduct; just conduct, dealing, or treatment.

5. the administering of deserved punishment or reward.

 

Personal (/mixed from others) definition... It's about being able to fight your corner when falsely accused of something, so right to a fair trial, and that it should be given when deserved. People should be able to be free, able to know that they didn't do something. And others should believe them! To me, justice should always be there for those who deserve it. If a person doesn't deserve it, them they shouldn't get it. Like, those who plead guilty in court know they don't deserve it. Sometimes it's for different reasons, of course. But even if it is for a different reason, they probably have that reason somewhere in their head. 

So therefore, just getting punished for what you haven't done and not being able to fight for your corner isn't justice. Justice is about fair trial. 

Charli

No To PCT: Lots of Links and a Few Words

Tomorrow will be the last of this week's NoToPCT post week. I will do some more NoToPCT posts but not as often. I'm sure some of you are sick of me now anyway!

These are some of my favourite articles/blog posts for NoToPCT that I have come across:

"The Child Pornographer"- A Barristers' Wife - probably my favourite of all the ones I have come across.

"The Right To Choose"- Crimsolicitor

"More Legal Aid Cuts"- Young Legal Aid Lawyers

"To Kill A Mockingbird"- ilegality

Those are my favourite four- there are many more you can view, find them on the Twitter.

PETITION HAS OVER 70K NOW- 30K TO GO... SIGN IT! 

The Twitter is full of links, rants and the Tweets are just awesome. Funny. 

There's also the Facebook, which is less funny, but informative. 

Find almost all of the SaveUKJustice Blog Posts here- I'm on there!

A Few Words...

So, I've been doing a ton of letter-writing, posting etc all week, and no, it wasn't a chore. I've had over 1000 views just this week! It's amazing, and actually rather surreal. I'm just a little 12 year old who decided to campaign. The support on the Facebook and Twitter has been phenomenal and the comments on here as well. So I want to thank all those who have commented, liked, RTed, favourited, and also thanks to Trevor for actually telling me at youth club. 

Ha I so sounded there like I'm stopping now. No, not at all. I'll still post, write, tell people, tweet. BUT less, cuz my education calls. On Monday I have to go to my Head Of Year and plee to her to let me out of school for a day to shadow. I have a good debate planned, I'm not worried. You know the stuff- the experience, it's after exams, I'm intelligent enough to copy up and be fine, etc etc. But yeah. I'm still here! You know, I think I'm pretty much the only under 16yr old involved. I don't know. Hmm. BUT ANYWAY, there's one more post tomorrow, it won't be much though. I am still here. Don't worry. 

Charli