Alexander Kandiloros continues to give us his view of the world in general and things you can do in particular.

It is a shame and a disgrace to have the poor understanding of the Swedish legal system that I have. I know the first six amendments to The Bill of Rights and what it takes for a police to be allowed to strip-search you. Or how it works in the U.S. and on TV anyway. It’s not shocking when David E. Kelley has formed my opinion on how laws work and what litigation is like. You know, the man behind just about every American lawyer series. L.A. Law, Ally McBeal, The Practice, Boston Legal, you name it.

Twelve regular citizens sit and listen to each side’s lawyer argue with passion and empathy and then go off to a room and agree on which side had the best lawyer, and if the accused can be considered guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. But in Sweden we have nämndemän and not a jury. When I was a witness in a robbery case, the accused was right outside the court house smoking a cigarette and I had to walk past him to get into the building. Sweden is not the U.S. But the U.S. probably doesn’t look like Kelley would have us believe either. TV is pretend. TV is phony. A mantra worth repeating.

Go to the courthouse in your town, check the notice board for all the trials that will take place the next few weeks. Sit in on a trial. See our legal system in action.