Mother’s example instilled responsibility to vote

From a very early age, my mother made sure we were cognizant of politics and the effect the subject had on all our lives. I remember seeing her cry the day JFK was killed. I thought it was sad someone got shot, but I also could intuit my mother’s sorrow and fear. I believe even my very conservative father was disturbed.

On through the years, I was active in marches and protests (including at Diablo Canyon back in 1978) and never missed an election. While there had been times when I asked myself why I should bother, I would talk to my mom, and she would have read every proposition and candidate’s statement and lined out her ballot, rekindling my sense of responsibility. And indeed, that is what it is. My sister reminded me again this weekend.

We had the opportunity for an overnight to L.A. for a family visit so there were a number of hours in the car discussing the legal system in which she labored for 17 years at the Superior Court of San Luis Obispo County.

“Most people have no idea how that system works. Let me tell you, there are a lot of hands in the pot.”

Do you know that a CEO, just like any big corporation, runs each of the 58 Superior courts in California? (The Superior Court handles traffic, criminal, juvenile and civil matters.) She creates the rules of the court — things like the rules the employees and judges follow, how the courts communicate with the public, how they handle the information collected, how they handle court proceedings and what access is given to the public (or not!).

“I saw plenty of people complaining about the police, but really, they are just the last ones on the totem pole, doing what they’ve been instructed to do. Granted, some discretionary laws are abused by some officers, to be sure, but by and large, they are doing what they are told. And then there are the judges who are also told what to do, definitely the trickle down. … They can be voted in but are also often appointed by the governor.

“It’s a good thing and a bad thing for these ‘mandated sentences’ that were put into place back in the ’70s because originally, while the thought was to keep judges from acting as God, now I see it backfiring as they must mete out a sentence even though individual cases may be better handled in other ways. Many people are unjustly sentenced.”

In California, the Superior Court (which is below the Appellate Court and Supreme Court) hierarchy is, top to bottom, state legislators, Judicial Council, CEO, judges and then staff. (The Superior Court does not include District Attorney’s Office or law enforcement agencies, which are part of the judicial process but not the judicial system). Who is that Judicial Council of California? Well, they are supposedly the ones who keep things impartial, independent and keep the administration of justice accessible. Not always happening.

The council consists of the chief justice of California, the associate justice of the Supreme Court, members of the courts of appeal, trial judges, members of the Legislature, the State Bar and advisory members. These are the people telling the courts how to administer justice.

You don’t like something (seat belt laws, tax this or that, etc.)? Contact your local representative on the state Assembly, whose decisions affect our lives here every day!

Bottom line, you don’t vote, you don’t have a voice — on laws, on the people who carry those out, etc.

Read up, listen up, speak up. VOTE!

For a refresher course in civics, review more at www.legislature.ca.gov or www.courts.ca.gov

This story was originally published November 2, 2016 at 8:39 AM with the headline "Mother’s example instilled responsibility to vote."