John Clarke, former major organizer for the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, posted the following recently on Facebook:
When three of us in OCAP faced a jury trial over the deeply reactionary public order charges that were laid against us in regard to the so-called Queen’s Park Riot, I know my co-accused considered my fascination with the legal proceedings to be a bit odd. I found the points of law that came up greatly interesting and the ongoing effort to ensure that we were mounting a politically principled but legally effective defence was incredibly stimulating.We live in an exploitative society where real power lies in the hands of a small ruling class. The state is an instrument of class rule and the courts are a key part of this. Yet, the judicial system is highly refined and avowedly impartial. To effectively function as an arm of class rule, it must generate a level of legitimacy, operate at arm’s length from the interests it serves and embrace rarified complexity, while ensuring that its core assumptions and forms of selective reasoning enable it to uphold the dominant interests. In its own way, it is a remarkable creature.I just wanted to own up to this perverse fascination because the Trump indictment is now unfolding. A societal crisis and a moment of reckoning for the whole governing system in the US is now playing out and the judicial wing of the state is playing a decisive role. I hope you’ll forgive me if I follow this closely on my page.
Does the radical left actually engage in systematic exposure of the real nature of the legal system in general and courts in particular?
The Abolitionary 