In every community their should have laws to be imposed and followed by every people living in that place. In Joe’s place, one of their laws is to imposed the proper disposal of garbage and to classify their garbage into recyclables and non- recyclables containers. And to put it into plastic containers marked “Property of the City of Ecology”. Ecology means study or caring of the environment. The aim of these laws is to assure the cleanliness of the environment and to dispose the garbage correctly.
It is on their laws that all recyclables garbage will belong to the “Property of the City of Ecology” or the property of the environment. They separate the garbage and those garbage marked recyclables items was brought into the recycling facility they sell it and added the proceeds for the income of the city. With that law the funds of the city boast into several hundred thousand of dollars per year. A person name Joe, a homeless and helpless man searches anything from the garbage and finds metal cans from the recyclables garbage. He crushes it and sells it to the buyers.
The police arrested him and charged him with theft from the city property. As a citizen, it is Joe’s right to hire a public defender to help him defense himself for the crime he is facing. “A public defender is a lawyer whose duty is to provide legal counsel and representation to indigent defendants in any cases who are unable to pay for legal assistance” (Wikepedia, the free encyclopedia, http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Public_defender). This public defender will analyze the case and see to it that he is giving the right service to the indigent person whom he is defending. This research paper will analyze the case of Joe.
Being a public defender representing Joe. What is Joe’s best defense to the theft charges? Body of the Paper Joe, being a homeless man tells us that he belongs to the lowest bracket of the society. In other words, he is indigent. He do not own anything, he is in dire need. Every citizens of any country he has certain rights as embodied in their government’s constitution. A right to have virtue of their existence as human beings. The right to have life and the rights to have the basic necessities of food and clothing, and the rights for all the property in the environment around him.
Joe is born and remains free and equal in all the rights in the society which he belong. He has all the rights to use the resources in which he is also a pert of it. “According to the American Declaration of Independence states that, all men… are endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights, the right of life, the right of liberty and the pursuit of happiness” (Compton’s Encyclopedia, Volume 10 pages 319). As human being, Joe is more value than any enactment of laws on environment, sanitation, and funds raising campaigns. On this regard laws are being promulgated to benefit humanity.
But how can it work effectively when there are people like Joe who become a scavenger in order to live. It is the primary duty of the people and the authority to investigate the reasons why this man commits theft before arresting him. In the part of the government they should give priority Joe’s problem on shelter rather than arrest him for theft of government property of which he himself is an owner. It is the rule of every government elected officials to look or assure for the safety and conditions of all the people in the community.
Raising funds for the city is a good work for the projects they planned, but for the benefits of only some members in the community. It is not good if the government is neglecting the needs of the people who are beggars begging for their survival. What is the future of this people if the government is not aware of their rights and needs? In this case, as a public defender analyzing the case of Joe. The best defense of Joe of the theft charges against him is the law itself that is enacted by the city to the people in the community.
It states that the community people will separate or segregate their garbage into recyclables and non recyclables items. In the laws it does not specifically mention that these recyclables are owned property of the city of Ecology. It is also vague as to the personality being represented by the “City of Ecology”. As far as Joe is concerned, he is one member of the community who helps the city by disposing these recyclables items properly and he is also helping himself to become productive members of his community from the profit he makes out of this selling.
As public defender upon analyzing the case, there is no theft charges can be filed against Joe for he did not steal any from the private property. Those recyclables items belong to the people in the community and he is also one of the members. And in the laws it is clearly stated only, to separate or to segregate the recyclables and non recyclable items from the garbage. It is not stated their about prohibiting individual personmembers of the community from getting the recyclables items to help him uplift his economic standard.
And beside of that it is a part and partially the responsibility of the city the look out for the general welfare of a community member. Hence, a homeless people like Joe must be given a provision and helps him taking care of his human basic needs. And if the city prohibits homeless person like Joe to make a living out of the recyclables they must pass a law regarding this matter. And if the city does not prohibits any individual members of the community from getting their recyclables items and selling it to the recycling facility there is no theft involves because Joe did not against any law on the community.
He gets recyclables items but did not steal because their is no laws prohibiting any individual from getting waste items from the containers. The laws only specify that to separate or segregate garbage into recyclables and non recyclables items. And beside recyclables items has no specific owner it belongs to everybody as well as the funds raise was owned by everybody. So all members a re entitled to have a part on it basing on his needs. In the case of Joe he has all the rights to use it for his survival, because he needs a little income for his foods, for his maintenance and some for his other needs.
In fact he is not stealing it from the house of the people in the community. It is already garbage, and he will only try to earn a little money so that he can sustain his little needs in order to live. Conclusion Therefore I conclude that, As a Public Defender for Joe I should try to defense him to the best of my ability. To help him seek fair justice for him so that he will be acquitted to the offense he commit. And to ask the government or the community officials for some assistance for his foods, Shelter and some aid for his basic needs.
Their was a saying that goes that taking care of others needs are aroma to the eyes of our savior. Joe’s best defense for the theft charges to him is his human rights. The right to have life. The right for liberty, the right for shelter. The right to attain happiness and the right to share the Earth natural resources. And the laws enacted by the community do not specify prohibiting any individual members of the community from getting any recyclables items from the plastic containers. It only stated that all the people in the community must separate or segregate the recyclables and non recyclables items
Joe has all the rights to get those items which he himself considered as one of the owner especially that it is his only source of a little income in order to meet his daily needs for survival. And it is the rules of the government to be aware what is happening, if his people are enjoying all his rights as human being. If they are enjoying the assistance done by the government to all the people In the case of Joe, the theft charge to him is not fitted to the crime he committed. He only took things that are not useful to other people who throw it in the garbage, but is very useful to him.
And in doing the crime Joe is not aware of the laws implemented intended for the garbage. What is important to him or what he knows is his needs in order to sustain his needs. It is difficult for a man to follow and understand the laws around him if he is in need, if he is hungry and sufferings the hardships in life. So as a public defender defending the case of Joe I should have to defend him basing on the rights he has. And basing on the laws the community has enacted. As public defender I should have to fight that Joe will be acquitted.
And to help him avail all his rights, to have a home for the homeless people like him and to ask the city to give Joe a work basing on his qualifications in order he have a source of income for his living.
References
Declaration of Human Rights, Compton’s Encyclopedia, Volume 10. Pages 319-320 Human Rights, Compton’s Encyclopedia, Volume 10 pages 319 – 320 Men Equal Rights, Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizens, France, 1789 Public defender, Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Public_defender