Should I Stay or Should I Go? I have been struggling lately as to who I am. My new location (just over two months old) has given me a new 'reality' to work with. I am not sure I can accurately portray the conundrum I am dealing with but the issue is do I resign myself to being a long term guest of the state or do I continue to seek some change in my current sentence through judicial intervention.

I am not writing this to have a pity party started. I am going to attempt to describe how my mind is dealing with the issues I am facing.

On the legal front I have come across some case law that would tend to lead me to believe that the court system has recently ruled on some of the same issues I have, and the outcome was certainly in the inmate's favor. However, I also know having read more case law than I care to remember, that the courts can still say, "Well, no, your case is not the same, so we do not have to rule the same way."

It is often said that a person that represents himself in court has a fool for a client. Unfortunately, at the legal point I am at, I am not guaranteed an attorney. Yes, if I was independently wealthy, I could hire an attorney, and that would probably give me a much better chance in front of the U.S. Court of Appeals.

If justice is supposed to be blind, and apply to each person equally, why I am 'forced' to present my case to the second highest court in the land without an attorney because I lack the funds to hire one? While money does not always buy better results, it certainly does provide a better chance for a favorable outcome.

Again, I am not seeking a pity party. I am only pointing out the truth that money, in this great country of ours, does certainly allow you to have more qualified assistance with the legal system.

The alternative is to give up my legal appeals, secure the best schedule to fill my days, and live in the moment of the day-to-day existence of being inmate number 04X9999.

Do I invest all the emotional energy in working of paperwork to the courts, only to be struck down?  ¶ 8:34 AM