Law students who are young and full of energy must be utilized in the community. This would not only give law students the experience they need, but it would also help with the workload of attorneys in the community. The community needs to build relationships with law students at law universities. These students usually hang out at law libraries and usually don't mind giving free legal advice to others. Community leaders should create opportunities for law students and paralegals to work cases in the community and earn credit for schooling.

A few years ago, law students in Chicago conducted investigations and were able to determine that many persons on death row were innocent of the crimes they supposedly committed. Because of these students' findings, the governor of Chicago called for a moratorium on the death penalty. Other governors and leaders in many states followed the Chicago governor's lead and subsequently called for a moratorium on the death penalty. Time and time again, statistical data shows that there are many innocent people on death row who are being wrongfully executed. But these findings have not gained the type of attention they really need to demand an outcry from the public. There must be a moratorium on the construction of prisons and especially on all executions.

The state of Texas, where President George W. Bush was governor, has carried out more executions than any other state. There is something very, very wrong with this picture. Databases must be utilized to capture and collect data to hand over to legislators to create new laws. There must be visionary legislators who will step up to the plate and create these new laws.

In order to obtain an accurate account of where racial profiling and police brutality is taking place, the community must set up citizen review boards and criminal justice coalitions. They must in turn set up databases.

Some of the questions for these databases should be: 1) Is it always the same police officers committing racial profiling or police brutality? 2) Do the police officers belong to the same precincts and have the same superiors? 3) Are the same areas being targeted for racial profiling and police brutality? 4) What time of day do these illegal acts by police officers take place?

If we find out it's the same officers from the same precincts, then we must go after their superiors and departments with class-action lawsuits and other strong actions. Special prosecutors must be hired in each state to handle criminal prosecutions of police officers.

To collect the evidence needed for these databases, citizen review boards and criminal justice coalitions could set up legal defense teams composed of attorneys, paralegals, or law students. These groups could authorize persons to use video cameras to record racial profiling and police brutality acts in the community.

These groups would be in a good position to train others in the community as well. This training must include training the community on where, how, and to whom to report acts of racial profiling or police brutality.

These persons could also monitor court proceedings, especially cases dealing with juveniles. Right now the court system is closed when dealing with young children. Only parents or legal guardians can be present.

Citizen review boards, criminal justice coalitions and legal defense teams could monitor what is happening to our children. They could make sure that juveniles and others are treated fairly by the system and report their findings to the community. Media justice coalitions must be on-call to report illegal acts to the community. These coalitions must be made up of media outlets (print, radio and TV) both in the community and on the Internet. They must be ready to launch a media campaign at a moment's notice when incidents occur in the community.

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Cathy Harris is available for Lectures, Seminars and Workshops.
She is the author of recently released "How To Take Control of Your Own Life: A Self-Help Guide to Moving Forward" and soon to be released "The Failure of Homeland In-Security: The Government's Dirty Little Secrets from An Insider." You can order her book off her website at Angels Press, P.O. Box 870849, Stone Mountain, GA 30087, Phone: (800) 797-8663, Fax: (678) 254-5014, Website: http://www.angelspress.com Email: info@angelspress.com The book is available in Atlanta at Oasis, Medu, Nubian, Wisdom Hut bookstores or ask for the book at any bookstore or library.

© May 2006 By Afromerica

Ms. Cathy Harris will be keeping the Black community updated on issues of family, Justice and Law that will strengthen our lives. Visit regularly for new information that could help you pursue a more positive lifestyle.

To subscribe to Cathy's column join the Afromerica email list to receive new information as it is updated. Or E-mail C Harris at: AskCathyHarris@comcast.net

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Afromerica: Where its all Black & white and some gray areas.

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