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HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
Jena 6 fails most basic concept of criminal Justice system
Dear Readers, This
week, I’d like to make
some observations about
the “Jena 6” imbroglio.
Our criminal justice sys-
tem is
rooted in
the tra
ditions
of the
English
“com
mon
law.”
The
English
legal sys-
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V
' ''v/" JEk
Jim Rockefeller
The “Law” man
tem grew up out of the
Middle Ages in the tripar
tite struggle between the
Church, the Nobles, and
the Crown. King Henry
VIII asserted his author
ity as superior to that of
the Church, signaling the
beginning of a long legal
struggle through genera
tions.
What form of help do you seek?
CC T T e y> y° u s ot a
l—l minute?” How
JL JLmany times
do you hear that in a given
day? The question is clearly a
request for help. As a servant
leader,
you feel
obligated
to provide
encour
agement
and sup
port.
So, you
interrupt
whatever
you are
doing and
Dennis Hooper
Leaders Building
Leaders
focus your attention, hoping
it will only require a minute
(or less!). Of course, it rarely
does! So, you listen, and you
provide the requested help.
Let me encourage you to
pay attention to the various
requests you receive in the
next couple of weeks. See if
you observe these same three
categories.
“Bail me out!” help. This
request often comes from
someone who is stressed. The
individual is usually in some
trouble and needs to improve
the situation quickly. Maybe
somebody made a bad choice,
or there’s been an unexpect
ed change in plans, or cir
cumstances just turned sour.
If proper action doesn’t
occur, the situation will
likely get worse. The indi
vidual would have already
taken the necessary action,
of course, if he or she had
the authority, or the skill, or
the confidence. Or maybe the
person’s not sure what the
proper action is. Perhaps the
individual is facing a tough
decision and is really asking,
“What should I do?” Maybe
it’s your expertise or your
authority that the person is
actually seeking.
Transactional help.
This request occurs any time
there is an explicit or implied
“deal.” It happens a lot
between neighbors: “I’ll fill
your pickup truck with gas
if you’ll let me use it to haul
pine straw this afternoon.”
Professional colleagues
often have implied agree
ments. One says, “Hey, will
you help me think through
this situation I’ll be facing
tomorrow?” The other one
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The tragedy of the mar
tyrdom of Sir Thomas
More, King Henry’s
Exchequer and confi
dante, and the death of
Anne Boleyn, Henry’s
Queen, were some of the
collateral damage in this
struggle.
The marital machinations
of a king was not the only
clash between the Crown
and the Church during the
Middle Ages. Both the Crown
and the Church sought to
bring order to the “wild
west” culture of untamed
noblemen through enforce
ment of the law.
The Church’s law enforced
“canons” through “Chancery
Courts;” and the king, not
wanting to cede power, grad
ually extended his control
over the activities of the feu
dal system through what was
known as the Ring’s law.
Eventually, the King’s law
"It you are successful in providing this kind of
transformational help in just half the instances,
you can significantly reduce the frequency of
future interruptions."
knows that in a day or two,
he’ll probably be making a
reciprocal request.
Actually, most of our
employment relationships
fall into this category. “We
think with your skills, you
can help us on the night
shift. Can you start Monday?
We pay sls an hour.”
Transformational help.
This is the kind of help that
causes individuals and orga
nizations to grow! A paradigm
shift is typically involved.
New insights empower indi
viduals to make their own
decisions and accomplish
their own desired outcomes
in the future.
The person is forever
Assessing Your
Leadership Skills
-SBS/person
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won out, although we still
see echoes of the Chancery
Court in principles of equi
ty, such as in the concept
of marriage, in our modern
legal system. The American
criminal justice system is
a direct descendent of the
King’s law, in the asser
tions of sovereign authority
to definitively resolve (and
end) disputes.
The kings became fed up
with peasants being abused
and nobles hacking each
other to death over even the
most insignificant matters,
in eye-for-an-eye frontier
justice. The chaos of these
feudal disputes led the kings
to declare that certain acts
were insults to the Crown,
answerable only to the
Crown, funneling vigilante
impulses into appeals to the
king for justice and punish
ment.
From this core concept
changed for the better. And
the organization is improved
because of the presence of a
more skilled individual.
I invite you, as a servant
leader, to elevate each request
for help to the transforma
tional level. How do you
do that? When the person
describes the help needed,
reframe the outcome being
sought. The person making
the request clearly has an
objective. Could you possi
bly satisfy not only what is
desired, but also empower
the person to be able to per
form better in a similar situ
ation next time? Consider
extending the interruption a
few more minutes and teach
F. Dennis Hooper
Certified
Leadership Development Coach
Building leaders and
organizations of excellence
(478) 988-0237
OPINION
54338
d hooper2(tfjj u no.com
154487
54477
of stopping petty disputes
before they tore the emerg
ing modern nation-state
apart, we eventually devel
oped lengthy and detailed
laws about crimes, pun
ishable by state-enforced
imprisonment, as opposed to
mere affronts which could
be resolved with transfers of
property and money. Thus,
while we may not recognize
it, our criminal justice sys
tem is designed to end con
flict, instead of citizens tak
ing the law into their own
hands, i
Which brings me to the so
called Jena 6 ... There was
a dispute at a -high school
about a tree where, remark
ably, white students asserted
a monopoly on it as a gather
ing place and where African-
American students were not
permitted.
In the resulting conflict,
an African-American stu
an appropriate principle.
Could you ask the person
to consider an expanded situ
ation - something more com
plex - and then think with
you about a generalization?
How about delegating
some related responsibility
to the person, knowing that
future situations will arise
that he or she could produc
tively handle?
If you are successful in pro
viding this kind of transfor
mational help in just half the
instances, you can signifi
cantly reduce the frequency
of future interruptions.
At the same time, you’ll
build the confidence and com
petence of your workforce!
Dennis Hooper is a local
leadership development
coach, helping leaders build
leadership skills among
their employees. Contact
Dennis at 478-988-0237 or at
dhooper2@juno.com.
Education for everyone.
dent was beaten by a white
student, who was charged
with a misdemeanor.
Several nooses were hung
from the tree, a clear racially
inflammatory message, and
a group of African-American
students beat a white stu
dent, and were charged
with serious crimes, includ
ing attempted murder, even
though the injuries were not
serious.
The prosecutor wields the
power to charge whatever
crimes he/she deems appro
priate as offenses against
the state. Were these chil
dren charged wisely and
even-handedly? Was justice
meted out fairly or was the
context of the “beat-down”
ignored? That is a discussion
for another commentator or
another column.
In my opinion, this whole
fiasco fails the most basic
concept of our criminal
COMPREHENSIVE
HEARING HEALTHCARE
Sheri Marshall
M.S.
Licensed Audiologist
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justice system - to use the
authority of the state to end
vigilantism amongst the citi
zens.
No one stopped any of
these students in their dan
gerous race-baiting. The
African-American students
felt ignored and powerless
and took the law into their
own hands - which is exact
ly what the criminal justice
system is designed to pre
vent.
Local attorney Jim
Rockefeller owns the
Rockefeller Law Center
and is a former Chief
Assistant District Attorney
for Houston County, and a
former Florida Assistant
State Attorney. E-mail con
fidential legal questions to
ajr@rockefellerlawcenter.
com. Visit www.rockefeller
lawcenter.com for past col
umns and Frequently Asked
Questions.
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