Los Angeles, December 6 – Human Rights Alert (NGO) and Joseph Zernik, PhD, requested the opinion of TIKKUN’s Rabbi MICHAEL LERNER regarding an immediate moratorium on the death penalty in California.

Rabbi Lerner had previously responded on a question, pertaining to conduct of Bet Tzedek and the Los Angeles Jewish Federation in legal matters. The current request suggested that the question of moratorium on the death penalty was one that Rabbi Lerner could and should opine on.

The request noted the recent United Nations Human Rights Council report, which referred to "corruption of the courts and the legal profession" in California. The request also quoted similar opinions by top US legal scholars. Moreover, the request noted conditions that were documented through the ongoing refusal of California and federal justice agencies to free the Los Angeles Rampart FIPs (Falsely Imprisoned Persons), which left little doubt regarding competence of the California justice system.

As an example, Los Angeles Judge JACQUELINE CONNOR was noted: She was The Central Figure both in court corruption of the Rampart scandal (1998-2000) and its cover-up. Regardless, she continued to this date to sentence an unknown number of criminal defendants to death.

Posing questions to leading rabbis of the day has been a traditional form of Jewish discourse, going back some 1,500 years.

The US Jewish community historically has been committed for Civil and Human Rights, and members of the Jewish community are vastly over-represented among judges and attorneys in California and the United States. Therefore, it was proposed that the Jewish community should hold itself accountable for conditions of the justice system in California and beyond, and initiate reform efforts.

The request claimed to be consistent with Rabbi Lerner’s stated mission - to heal, repair, and transform the world.



Human Rights Alert is dedicated to discovering, archiving, and disseminating evidence of Human Rights violations by the justice systems of the State of California and the United States in Los Angeles County, California, and beyond. Human Rights Alert focuses on the unique role of computerized case management systems in the precipitous deterioration of integrity of the justice system in the United States.



http://www.scribd.com/Human_Rights_Alert

http://inproperinla.blogspot.com/

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WHAT DID THE EXPERTS SAY ABOUT THE JUSTICE SYSTEM IN THE UNITED STATES?

* "On July 26, 2010, Laurence Tribe, Senior Counsel for the United States Department of Justice, Access to Justice Initiative, delivered an important speech to the Conference of Chief Justices, challenging them to halt the disintegration of our state justice systems before they become indistinguishable from courts of third world nations."

Prof Laurence Tribe, Harvard Law School (2010), per National Defender Leadership Institute

http://www.nlada.net/library/article/national_dojspeechto%20chiefjustice07-26-2010_gideonalert

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WHAT DID THE EXPERTS SAY ABOUT THE JUSTICE SYSTEM IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CALIFORNIA?

* "Innocent people remain in prison"

* "...the LA Superior Court and the DA office, the two other parts of the justice system that the Blue Panel Report recommends must be investigated relative to the integrity of the system, have not produced any response that we know of..."

LAPD Blue Ribbon Review Panel Report (2006)

http://www.scribd.com/doc/24902306/

* "...judges tried and sentenced a staggering number of people for crimes they did not commit."

Prof David Burcham, Dean, Loyola Law School, LA (2001)

http://www.scribd.com/doc/29043589/

* "This is conduct associated with the most repressive dictators and police states... and judges must share responsibility when innocent people are convicted."

Prof Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean, Irvine Law School (2001)

http://www.scribd.com/doc/274339

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WHAT DID THE UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL STAFF REPORT SAY ABOUT THE JUSTICE SYSTEM IN CALIFORNIA?

* "...corruption of the courts and the legal profession and discrimination by law enforcement in California."

http://www.scribd.com/doc/38566837/