Daytime Justice

“You are under arrest.”
They walk me to the processing area.
“Any tattoos, piercings, scars?”
The usual questions. I answer best I can.
“We’ll put her in cell four.”
My belongings are put in corresponding basket four.
“Any questions?” I respond no. They put me in cell four.
Some time passes, maybe 20 minutes. They open the door. He leads me to a room. The door says “interview room.”
He closes the door. I am alone with him. He points to a camera on the ceiling and tells me a female officer is watching.
“Where do you work?”
“Where did you go to school?” I answer best I can.
“Of the computers we seized from your property, which one was the main one?” I respectfully decline to say anything.
“Okay, well going back, when did your involvement with the Children’s Aid Society begin?” I, again, respectfully decline to say anything.
“So you’re going to be one of those?” I’m unsure if it is a question or not. I respond,
“I respectfully decline to say anything.” His tone changes. He seems angry. I’m alone with him for another hour. He keeps asking me questions.  I keep telling him that I respectfully decline to say anything.  

We leave the room. He’s taking my fingerprints. He’s engaging me in small talk. I small talk best I can. My lawyer is waiting for me outside.
Daytime justice, fueled by the expected laws and procedures that govern our land.
Imagine, hypothetically of course, that those laws and procedures might not be yielding the justice we seek. That these laws, created by the privileged class, might actually favor them and perpetuate injustice, purposefully.

​I would like to caution the public about dissonance. Where democracy may be good, it is important to remember that it was never intended to solicit complacency. I would also warn the public that it is impossible to know everything so it is important to remain open.

​-Mindy Simmons