Sunday, January 20, 2008

The Opportunity To Improve The Judicial System






The 2008 election is about so much more than the Presidency. It is about fairness, justice, due process, and equal protection under the law for all Americans including Black Americans.


We have all seen the headlines that are direct evidence that justice isn't fair in this country. Those stories making headlines includes the Jena 6 case and reports that many of our people have served years in prison for crimes that they did not commit.

As a race of people we are not only victims of injustices in criminal court cases but we are also victims of an unjust civil court system. I like many of you have been victimized by various forms of discrimination. My most painful discriminatory experience was employment discrimination and retaliation.

As an underdog born into poverty I managed to achieve my dream of graduating from college and having what should have been a great career with New York State Department of Corrections. My dream and my life were shattered by employment discrimination.

Eliot Spitzer, a Democrat, is currently the governor of New York State. Governor Spitzer was the Attorney General of the State of New York when a member of his staff, Mike Russo, Assistant New York State Attorney General, filed seven perjured declarations in federal court during my pro-se lawsuit. The perjured declarations were filed to prevent a jury from ruling that the NYS Department of Corrections violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as amended.

I contacted many people and news media outlets during the course of my quest for justice in my discrimination (Title VII) case. Two of the people that I contacted were Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

I sent e-mails to Senator Clinton on numerous occasions. I sent the e-mails before and after the unjust dismissal of my Title VII case. Although my concerns and issues all occurred in the State of New York. Hillary Clinton did not respond to my pleas for assistance and/or justice.

It is my belief that Senator Clinton did not respond to my e-mails because of her ambition to become President Hillary Clinton. She did not want to upset the "establishment” of New York State that included Governor Spitzer.

Senator Barack Obama’s office responded to my e-mail. In fact of all the law professors, senators, and news media outlets that I contacted prior to 2007 Obama was the only one that responded to my emails. His staff called me on the telephone.

It was proper for Obama’s staff to respond to my email because for a period of time I lived in Rockford, Illinois. I leased an apartment and moved to Rockford to be near Jeremiah, my now four-year-old grand son. My precious grand boy has had three open-heart surgeries at Children’s Hospital outside of Chicago.

A 2008 presidential victory for Senator Obama will generally increase Democratic majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate. Thereby giving the new President more leverage not only in subsequent appointment of federal judges but also in any Supreme Court appointments he may make to the courts.

This year we have the opportunity to make this election a civil / equal rights victory for all Americans. If we elect President Barack Obama he will have the power to nominate federal judges and possibly Supreme Court Justices.

After the president nominates the federal judges and/or Supreme Court Justices for appointment Congress must confirm the nominees. Once confirmed by Congress the federal judges and/or Supreme Court Justices will serve lifetime appointments.

I believe that Senator Barack Obama can and will win the general election for president. He can win if we as a people trust God and vote for him in all of the upcoming primaries and in the general election.

Vera Richardson is the author of “A Case of Racial Discrimination and Retaliation Real or Imagined." http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?r=1&EAN=9780615177014

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