America’s immigration court laws inspired John Oliver to create this ridiculous courtroom TV drama
Children are being made to appear in courts alone, unsupervised and without any legal counsel.
In a recent episode (video above), American talk-show host John Oliver pointed out that immigrants to the US who cannot afford lawyers must represent themselves when fighting deportation. As a result, only thirty-seven percent of defendants are represented by lawyers.
This rule also applies to children. Which means even a two-year-old facing deportation must fight their own case in court.
Oliver made a joke out of it, but obviously his point was completely serious. As he said, “You cannot let a two-year-old be unsupervised in court. You can’t even let a two-year-old be unsupervised in a bouncy castle. They’re going to come out covered in glitter, holding a broken beer bottle and a dead bird.”
A better idea, according to him: make a courtroom drama series for TV, filled with children. And watch the outcome.