the court system. She seemed quite knowledgeable of the divisions and levels of our court system. Alissa C. knew the difference between small claims, civil, probate, family, etc.) and criminal divisions, and indicated that she knew there was state court, federal courts and different levels of appeals, such as Illinois Appellate Courts, U.S. Court of Appeals, Illinois Supreme Court and on up the ladder. I asked her if she felt our court system was sufficient. She appeared a bit agitated over that question and indicated that the courts work as well as the laws allow. She stated her knowledge of the court system was as follows: a criminal commits a crime, the criminal gets arrested, the criminal obtains a lawyer or is assigned a public defender, the case is prepared for trial by lawyers researching case law, etc., case is presented to a judge and jury, jury decides the issues and renders a verdict. Alissa C. was adamant that if a person commits a crime that they should be punished for the extent of the crime. She knows that there are some lawyers with better reputations than others and some with more ethics. She referenced that a lawyer should be able to take a case because he believes in it, but knows better -- because in today's society, often the law is about earning high amounts of money and a lawyer will take a client or case because it will pay well. However, she indicated she would get back on track and insisted that our court system, generally, appeared sturdy and reliable. She said society relies on the police for protection and our court system is also a means of protecting society since, hopefully, the criminals will receive the proper punishment and be taken off the streets. Alissa C. said society has fought for and maintained their rights as outlined in the Constitution of the United States and, therefore, the police, the courts, and the government protect those rights. Lawyers and judges decide issues and cases based on the...
