#Occupy: All 109 criminal court judges are mayoral appointees in New York City... [View all]

[Fire Walk With Me]

http://www.cynicaltimes.org/articles/occupy-protesters-face-biased-nyc-legal-system/?fb_ref=.Tuj-1Ygq_dk.like&fb_source=tickerdialog_oneline

Let's say you got in a fistfight with your next-door neighbor. You wouldn't expect to find yourself being judged in court by his best friend the next day. However, that's roughly the situation confronting Occupy Wall Street in New York City. Its members face a criminal court system in which every judge has either been appointed or reappointed by the city's billionaire mayor, who is an icon for the very Wall Street greed that gave birth to their movement.

The outcome on Wednesday, Dec. 14, was predictable. New York City Criminal Court Judge Neil Ross denied a summary motion for dismissal the National Lawyers Guild filed on behalf of those arrested, even as prosecutors were offering to drop charges against any Occupy Wall Street member who agreed to cease protesting for six months. It's a strategy rooted in political considerations rather than the legitimate of a proper judicial system.

Michael Bloomberg, the 11th richest man in the United States, reappointed Ross in January 2009. More than 1,400 arrests have been made in New York City at his direction since the nonviolent pro-democracy group began challenging the status quo 89 days ago. That's an arrest rate of 16 per day.