JUDICIAL SYSTEM NEEDS REVAMPING

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, January 24, 1992                   TAG: 9201280044
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short
JUDICIAL SYSTEM NEEDS REVAMPING
I'VE BEEN in Roanoke County and the state of Virginia for 21 years. The part of Virginia that really needs some revamping is the judicial system.
Had anyone else been found with alcohol on their breath in a job position like a judge's, they would have been given their job replacement on a platter.
Had the judge been found guilty, all the cases he tried for the past five years would have had to be retried (at county expense). There are cases in the files in Roanoke County right now that have some overtones of wrongdoing, and the persons needing help have no money, so they are pushed under some very dusty files.
If the judicial system were up to snuff, the prison system would not need more building. No need for overcrowding in the jails. No judges with too much ability to do as they please, and too much power to give people sentences for minor infractions.
We are paying between $23,000 and $25,000 to house, clothe and pay the police officers to guard the unfortunate that have minor charges, instead of reviewing their cases at a faster rate than a snail's pace. Taxpayers are tired of their money being used so badly. MRS. RICHARD L. ERICKSON VINTON

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB