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The inquiry system of law uses one government appointed lawyer to
gather and present all facts in a case to the judge and jury. Parties
are allowed to have their own lawyers and may ask additional questions
at trial. This system is generally agreed to be 1/3 as costly, to be
three times as fast, to give better results most of the time; but most
important, it does not require that large numbers of young people be
formally trained in dissimulation. Fees in this system are set by the
government. Parties with small cases face small fees, parties with
large cases pay large fees. The large cases subsidize the cost of the
small cases, society accepts this approach because everyone benefits
when society's disputes are handled properly.
In Britain, the adversary system works more smoothly than it does
in the U S. British lawyers who go into court are called barristers.
Lawyers who prepare wills, contracts, trusts, or regulations for the
government are called solicitors. In America all lawyers are expected
to be able to do either courtroom work or legal paperwork. British
barristers because of their extensive courtroom experience make fewer
procedural errors and do a better job representing clients. The British
court system has two other improvements: 1) barristers are required to
wear standardize clothing and must not use arm and body motions to
dramatize their speaking points, and 2) juries are selected before the
trial by an officer of the court or judge removing those that have
conflicts. The barristers are not given any opportunity to challenge or
disqualify members of the jury. In Britain the appellate process leads
to a judicial committee of the Parliament not a stand alone "supreme
court". This assures that the "case law" of Great Britain is kept
compatible with the laws enacted by Parliament. In America it is not
uncommon to see Supreme Court decisions working at cross purposes with
the laws enacted by Congress or the States.
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