My own experience as a mad person has shown me the need to reform our court system. Psychiatric court proceedings are confidential, and you would be amazed to hear some of the things judges and other authority figures say on record during those proceedings. They are particularly bold when the public cannot see how they behave, but even less confidential court proceedings need improvement. Family courts often trample the rights of parents in the name of protecting kids who are better off staying with their parents than with foster caregivers who see drugs as the quickest way to handle childish behavior.
Anyone charged with a criminal offense goes through the regular court system where the public can watch the proceedings. Unfortunately, so few neighbors care about the quality of the courts that the only people watching are the people waiting for their own trials. Defendants without enough money for a private lawyer get pressured by public defenders to strike a deal with the prosecutors who over charged them. Any attempts to slow down the process so that the defendant can understand the agreement he signs is an invitation for the lawyers on both sides of the bench to get angry at him. This means that most accusations are never tested in a trial with cross examination. When cops know that no one will ever cross examine their testimony, it is easier for the hand full of bad cops to lie in their reports.
Furthermore, we must bring back the right to a reasonable bail. Low income people have the right to go free on bail as they await trial, and this bail must be low enough for them to pay without extreme hardship. A bail of $200 should be enough to ensure that any low income person returns for the trial. Elected officials recently replaced bail in New Jersey with a risk analysis based on cutting edge research on human behavior. Keep in mind that these researchers belong to the field that declared cross-dressing to be a disease. Do you want your neighbor’s right to live freely until proven guilty to depend on an industry that charges private health insurance, medicare, and medicaid to treat cross-dressing?
According to the Psychology Today page on Transvestic Disorder:
A person with transvestic disorder may experience continuous urges to cross-dress, or their desire may fluctuate or occur in a series of episodes. They may become stuck in a negative behavioral pattern of purchasing clothing with the intent of cross-dressing, wearing it during a cross-dressing session, and throwing it away in hopes of quitting. They may also be co-diagnosed with other disorders, including: fetishism, in which one is sexually aroused by fabrics, materials, or garments; masochism, in which one experiences sexual gratification at his or her own pain or humiliation; and autogynephilia, in which a male derives sexual pleasure from fantasizing about himself as a woman.
Causes
No specific cause has been determined for transvestic disorder. It has been observed that in childhood, cross-dressing causes excitement which, after puberty, becomes sexual excitement. As the person gets older and the behavior is repeated and reinforced, the desire to cross-dress may become stronger even as sexual gratification diminishes.
Treatments
Cross-dressing in and of itself is not a disorder so it does not generally require treatment. Cross-dressers are sometimes referred to therapy by the court system or are brought to therapy by a parent, partner, or spouse. Some cross-dressers seek therapy themselves for other reasons, such as substance abuse, depression, or gender dysphoria, or because they are distressed by their own urges. A person with a history of transvestic disorder is considered to be in remission when their desire to cross-dress has not caused them distress or impaired their daily life in at least five years.
Joseph Dunsay for Bergen County Freehold 