"Unless there were an incentive system (bounty) to find wrongful prosecutions and convictions with prosecutors suffering the same punishment as the wrongfully convicted,"
I agree that the all but absolute immunity from suit that prosecutors enjoy should end, however, they still need effective protection from spurious lawsuits.
At the option of the jury, perhaps modifiable by appeal--the losing attorney should be liable for all parties' costs. Perhaps also penalties up to some high integer multiple of the costs.
The Answer - how to fix the US
Personally I am thinking that simply not having capital punishment might be an easier solution. Otherwise you might end up with a lot of gangsters going free because of judges being affraid for their own heads, hmm?
I think that life long solitary confinement is pretty good a punishment too. Plus, it is reversible. As we can see on the recent example in Texas, it can happen that there are serious doubts cast on someones guilt, even after his execution. If someone is innocent, while you cant give him his years back, you can at least reimburse him and give him a new start. Once someone is dead, he is dead and noone and nothing will bring back his life. Since there is no afterlife (yes, I know that for sure, since I personally went and checked), he wont ever get redemption either.
Btw, this is the ONLY reason why I am against capital punishment. It is irreversible and humans are not unfallible. So errors will happen and I cant imagine anything that is much worse than being executed for a crime that someone else did.
I think that life long solitary confinement is pretty good a punishment too. Plus, it is reversible. As we can see on the recent example in Texas, it can happen that there are serious doubts cast on someones guilt, even after his execution. If someone is innocent, while you cant give him his years back, you can at least reimburse him and give him a new start. Once someone is dead, he is dead and noone and nothing will bring back his life. Since there is no afterlife (yes, I know that for sure, since I personally went and checked), he wont ever get redemption either.
Btw, this is the ONLY reason why I am against capital punishment. It is irreversible and humans are not unfallible. So errors will happen and I cant imagine anything that is much worse than being executed for a crime that someone else did.
1) Term limits:
Traditional term limits will prohibit returning good legislators to government, and to the extent they have been adopted, do not seem to be accomplishing their intended ends, therefore:
Eliminate consecutive terms for all offices with fixed terms, House, Senate, and Presidential; no one is ever an incumbent.
2) Taxes
This years government expenditures, should be paid for by the wealth created in that year, as a general rule. It is not a morally proper--or constitutional--function of government to move money between economic classes of people. Sales taxes are massively regressive, unless a beureacracy is built up to keep track of refundable portions of the taxes that are paid, or to administer an array of exemptions...the potential for pecuniary or political graft there is great. Also, such circular flows of money are inefficient, and should be avoided.
The income tax should be modified to have per filer and possibly per dependent deductions, and no other. The per filer deduction should be large, and possibly also the per dependent exemption should be fairly large, avoiding circular flows of money--if they are takng care of themselves and someone else is some basic, essential degree, then the government isn't. Thereafter, all income should count as income, whether from wages or increase on investments, even that from municipal bonds. The other areas of government revenue should be done away with, with federal acreage property turned over to the states.
3) Welfare
The welfare state at the federal level should be brought to an end, with no new enrollees to federal programs permitted. As federally spent are freed by this, the funds first turned over to the states in proportion to the fraction each contributes, and federal taxes decreased as surpluses are created.
4) National Legislature
A) The House of Representatives to be increased in number to 1 representative per 50,000 people. Gerrymandering of districts to be avoided by the application of mathematical algorithms to GIS aware census plots, with political commissions not allowed to adjust boundaries by more than what produces districts with no greater discrepancy than 2,00 persons between districts in a state, or which geographically displaces the district by 4% of its mathematically derived territory. Representatives to be paid a per annum 3.5 times the median wage in their state, and they shall provide for any personal staff from that amount.
B) The Senate shall be increased in number to 133. Two per state and 33 at large. The at large Senators to be selected by the national population for a two year term. They are forbidden from participating in committees, but can vote on cloture and final passage only, and they may not vote on revenue bills. They are to be the first 33 highest vote getters nationally where voters must write in their selection. Of the two Senators per state, one to be selected by the executive of the state and serve at the pleasure of the executive without the approval of that state's legislature, with no fixed term. The other Senator of the state to be selected by the executive of that state if the least numerous legislative body of that state leaves the seat vacant for more than 33 days, but any Senator so selected to be displaced by the Senator selected by that state legislature once their selection has been made, again no fixed term. The Vice President shall be empowered to cast a vote to either break or create a tie, at the VP's discretion.
5) Jury Nullification
An amendment to be passed to this effect:
The defendant at trial shall have the option of presenting any and all facts and interpretations of facts which they find may be exculpatory, including that the prosecution is employing laws and interpretations of laws which are unconstitutional in their specific language, general intent, and intended outcome in the case at hand. Trial Juries shall separately and independently be charged with discovering the guilt and constitutionality of charges brought. In most cases the second should be a formality, but if a jury shall find guilt or be hung on that question, but unanimously find the constitutionality of the charge is not founded, charges are to be dismissed with prejudice. Grand juries are to hear not solely from the prosecution, but also from an officer of the court elected from the district which the court serves, to explain to them alternative views of the constitution which may disuade them of the constitutionality of the charges sought, and the grand jury must unanimously (or by 133% of the fraction thereof empowered to bring charges, whichever is the lesser number) agree that the charges may be constitutional before charges are levied.
Per the above, as juries may find that laws and their usage are not well founded in the constitution, persons already convicted for such crimes at the time this amendment is passed shall be afforded an appeal to a grand jury drawn from the district in which they commited the esrstwhile crime in question, as to the constitutionality of their conviction. The same fraction of that grand jury as may test the constitutionality of new charges must vote for the constitutionality of the existing conviction, or the person freed with their records as to their conviction in question expunged.
My apologies as to revision level of this post, it needs editorial work, I'm sure.
Traditional term limits will prohibit returning good legislators to government, and to the extent they have been adopted, do not seem to be accomplishing their intended ends, therefore:
Eliminate consecutive terms for all offices with fixed terms, House, Senate, and Presidential; no one is ever an incumbent.
2) Taxes
This years government expenditures, should be paid for by the wealth created in that year, as a general rule. It is not a morally proper--or constitutional--function of government to move money between economic classes of people. Sales taxes are massively regressive, unless a beureacracy is built up to keep track of refundable portions of the taxes that are paid, or to administer an array of exemptions...the potential for pecuniary or political graft there is great. Also, such circular flows of money are inefficient, and should be avoided.
The income tax should be modified to have per filer and possibly per dependent deductions, and no other. The per filer deduction should be large, and possibly also the per dependent exemption should be fairly large, avoiding circular flows of money--if they are takng care of themselves and someone else is some basic, essential degree, then the government isn't. Thereafter, all income should count as income, whether from wages or increase on investments, even that from municipal bonds. The other areas of government revenue should be done away with, with federal acreage property turned over to the states.
3) Welfare
The welfare state at the federal level should be brought to an end, with no new enrollees to federal programs permitted. As federally spent are freed by this, the funds first turned over to the states in proportion to the fraction each contributes, and federal taxes decreased as surpluses are created.
4) National Legislature
A) The House of Representatives to be increased in number to 1 representative per 50,000 people. Gerrymandering of districts to be avoided by the application of mathematical algorithms to GIS aware census plots, with political commissions not allowed to adjust boundaries by more than what produces districts with no greater discrepancy than 2,00 persons between districts in a state, or which geographically displaces the district by 4% of its mathematically derived territory. Representatives to be paid a per annum 3.5 times the median wage in their state, and they shall provide for any personal staff from that amount.
B) The Senate shall be increased in number to 133. Two per state and 33 at large. The at large Senators to be selected by the national population for a two year term. They are forbidden from participating in committees, but can vote on cloture and final passage only, and they may not vote on revenue bills. They are to be the first 33 highest vote getters nationally where voters must write in their selection. Of the two Senators per state, one to be selected by the executive of the state and serve at the pleasure of the executive without the approval of that state's legislature, with no fixed term. The other Senator of the state to be selected by the executive of that state if the least numerous legislative body of that state leaves the seat vacant for more than 33 days, but any Senator so selected to be displaced by the Senator selected by that state legislature once their selection has been made, again no fixed term. The Vice President shall be empowered to cast a vote to either break or create a tie, at the VP's discretion.
5) Jury Nullification
An amendment to be passed to this effect:
The defendant at trial shall have the option of presenting any and all facts and interpretations of facts which they find may be exculpatory, including that the prosecution is employing laws and interpretations of laws which are unconstitutional in their specific language, general intent, and intended outcome in the case at hand. Trial Juries shall separately and independently be charged with discovering the guilt and constitutionality of charges brought. In most cases the second should be a formality, but if a jury shall find guilt or be hung on that question, but unanimously find the constitutionality of the charge is not founded, charges are to be dismissed with prejudice. Grand juries are to hear not solely from the prosecution, but also from an officer of the court elected from the district which the court serves, to explain to them alternative views of the constitution which may disuade them of the constitutionality of the charges sought, and the grand jury must unanimously (or by 133% of the fraction thereof empowered to bring charges, whichever is the lesser number) agree that the charges may be constitutional before charges are levied.
Per the above, as juries may find that laws and their usage are not well founded in the constitution, persons already convicted for such crimes at the time this amendment is passed shall be afforded an appeal to a grand jury drawn from the district in which they commited the esrstwhile crime in question, as to the constitutionality of their conviction. The same fraction of that grand jury as may test the constitutionality of new charges must vote for the constitutionality of the existing conviction, or the person freed with their records as to their conviction in question expunged.
My apologies as to revision level of this post, it needs editorial work, I'm sure.
molon labe
montani semper liberi
para fides paternae patria
montani semper liberi
para fides paternae patria