Dramaturgy and the Criminal Justice System

Theatrical displays are the criminal justice system’s demonstration of what justice is in the United States.  Unusual television programs that highlight serious crimes and then solved by some team of Hollywood glamour shots allow our legal practitioners to believe that they are truly going to be nominated for a Grammy for their prejudiced applications of justice.  Additionally, this author (blogger) indicates that unusual desires to be popular are abundant in our nation, and more specifically in the United States’ criminal justice systems.  With this being reiterated time-and-time again, theatre has become a main utensil in our policing organizations, definitely in our adversarial processes, and now, most ugly, in our correctional departments.

Criminal justice has transitioned into a commercial that everyone has to watch because it’s on every damn television channel, and the messages that are conveyed in such advertisements are notions that entertain (a play on words if you will) depictions of the necessity of such contrivances.  Police chiefs standing at the podium and declaring drops in crime due to unneeded crack downs, attorneys glorifying in front of the camera for sending someone to jail or prison, or fining some white collar criminal and giving them a year in prison for causing thousands of peoples' cancer, and correctional officials suggesting that they maintain warehouses that are full of violent offenders is the epitome of false advertising.  If you’ve been outside today, which you should have, you would notice that there is no parade of violent offenders engaging in some "Street Car Named Desire" scene, it’s mostly people driving around and doing whatever it is that they do – usually nothing illegal -- and if it is, it’s nothing as serious as the “actors” in the criminal justice system suggest that it is.  My favorite actors in the system are the so-called lawyers we have in our legal world – the attorneys who participate in ridiculous trials and impromptu acting in a court of law.  These “professionals” are phony and extremely funny to watch, particularly when a case is easily known to be “high profile.”  Many attorneys put their game face on and engage in kinesics and language that is full of lies, and again, a shit show for the audience to watch and give their “oohs” and “ahhs” for alleged legal brilliance.

Dramaturgy is what our adversarial process is now, and is similar to the behavior of magicians who think that they fool people with their tricks (pay attention to the word “trick”).  Deceit and trickery is what our court system is based on; “guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.” The doubt is founded and eradicated in the scripts that the B actors conjure up.  Tricks are necessary for acquittals or prosecutions, and if they were not, then, juries would have to become lawyers in order to properly adjudicate a criminal case – fuckin’ bullshit, America!  Prosecutors use horrific language and other pieces of evidence to procure the judgments that they desire.  Defense attorneys do the same thing and, in turn, are able to convince the audience via unusual permeations of mockery and discourses based on doubt – tricks.  Making the audience believe in the magic tricks is how lawyers make a living, and now, it has become a tool that is slated into our history. What the fuck?  Subjecting the future generations to corruption and deceit is taking place daily in our courts (and schools) – not cool – and it has merit because we, Americans, love our drama, we love our boxing matches and seeing someone, or something, being completely destroyed because in the process we get a champion.  In the courts, it’s a champion of deceit.  I’m starting to think that we should just turn our courts into casinos or wrestling matches, we can have karate matches between defense attorneys and prosecutors, and the judge could actually be a referee, with the jury giving points to who strikes the best and most blows to the opposing party – we could call it VACA (Violent American Court Association) and even have belts that are full of gold and precious jewels.  Criminal justice in our country in unusual, I’ll leave it at that.  It’s also full of grown adults who act like ten year-olds.  Disgusting.