This is my first diary, and I don't intend it to be earth shattering, I'm just looking for some guidance.
Earlier this year I had my first brush with the law in the form of grand jury duty. It was not what I expected. One of my first cases involved a man who had stolen a forklift and driven it through a gate and onto a road. This same man parked the forklift there and waited for officers to arrive.
When our jury was given testimony by the arresting officers, they said that he was cooperative and nonthreatening, and that he had told them that he wanted to go to jail so that he didn't freeze to death. This was Alaska in January.
Our grand jury deliberated three different felonies for up to ten years in prison. That was what this man faced for turning on someone else's forklift and driving it through a gate.
More Below.
This was the first time I'd been involved in any courts. I'd never even faced a traffic ticket. At this same time though, I'd started hearing from my older brother. In his late teens my brother had been something of a party animal, and he'd gotten caught drinking and driving twice, and then skipped out on court. Now, ten years later, having not driven in the whole intervening time, he wanted to be legal again. He approached the court, willing to pay whatever fine they asked.
The first DUI went easily. The judge agreed that a decade of not having a license was fair punishment, and only asked him for a fine, which he gladly paid. The second DUI judge was not so lenient.
The arresting officer and his paperwork had disappeared in the intervening years, but the prosecutor wouldn't give up the case. Over and over again he filed to reschedule or extend the trial, until my brother didn't have any more vacation days to use. He was forced to agree to jail time, a fine, and another year's revocation of his license, all because he couldn't afford to appear in court anymore.
Anyhow, long story short, I realized for the first time how unsettling our criminal justice system really is. I want to do what I can to change it. I know that a law degree is no meager commitment, but right now I'm serving the last of my six years in the army and that's no small commitment either.
All I want is advice. I want to defend people from jail. I am not entirely naive, I know that I might end up defending crooks or worse, but I'd still like advice from the legal community here.
If I were to take up a law degree, what schools would you recommend? Is there a region of the nation you'd recommend? Is there a field that may work better for my ideological position than other law fields?
Aside from my jury duty, I know very little about the legal system, but I learn quickly, and I think that this is a way that I can make a difference in people's lives, I just want help to know where to go.