Going to Court?

Say I, as a concerned citizen, wanted to go to court to follow the proceedings of the Basi, Basi and Virk case that resulted from the unprecedented December 28, 2003 RCMP Raid on the Legislature? Since I am one of those old fashioned cantankerous types who feels that a case of this magnitude so closely entwined with my government and the "unauthorized" disposal of Public Assets for Private Gain - IS MY BUSINESS, I won't accept the answer that it is none of my business. Indeed a transparent open justice system is in the citizen's interest.

I mean, I guess we could simplify and speed things up by having star chambers and other "secret" courts where no one but the accused really knows what is happening. If you are one who feels that way, I hope you get arrested as soon as we have simplified the system. By the way, I don't care if you are really guilty or not - it takes too much time and resources and IT"S NOBODY'S BUSINESS anyway.

So for the last couple of days I've been trying with no success (btw government, your website sucks) to access the Court Lists posted online. Finally around 5:00pm this afternoon I was able to get into the lists, and well, then I wrote a friend who shares my interest in open government and transparent delivery of justice. I'll just let the letter take over from here.

November 13, 2006
Dear XXXXXXX, (I can be greedy with information too)

It's 5:00pm and I just got into the Court Lists for all the use they are. If I could time travel backwards I know what cases are appearing in Nanaimo, Victoria and Vancouver Supreme Courts on NOVEMBER 10, 2006.

Now that's mighty handy don't you figure. I guess maybe, with luck tomorrow's listings will be up at 6:00am in the morning. Hey no problem, if BVB are on there, I'll just hop in my commuter jet and be right down. Not only are they assholes, but they take us for fools.

To me knowing what is on the docket in Van or Victoria tomorrow morning at 6:00am is just about as useful as knowing what cases were supposed to be on the docket last Friday. The whole government "online" information access program is a crock. It's just another way to actually pretend to be allowing access, while really making it almost impossible for the populace to even find out what in the beJeeeeezus is happening.

Hello SoupGuy or would, ala Seinfeld, "Soup Nazi" be more appropriate? In case you haven't noticed, British Columbia is a large area. It actually incorporates more real estate than the states of Washington, Oregon and California combined. For the little wee bit of information you guys grudgingly share to be of any use, a person would need to have it in time to actually be able to act on it. I guess anyone who lives east of Chilliwack or so doesn't matter. Heck, what am I thinking, I've always known that.

Guess what dipwads, I can - from my keyboard here in the Kootenays - find out more about what is going on in the Court Systems of Riverside or Los Angeles Counties in California. Not only that, but I can also find trial records, judgements and sentencing results of cases that happened in the last century, or last week, FOR FREE.