(photo The Real Us . . . by sesame ellis, flickr) 

Thanks to Diane Levin (hey! nice new web site Diane) at the Online Guide to Mediation for hipping us to In this case . . . a blog of people telling their stories about the law.  

Brought to us by Tracey Broderick, the blog's mission is to bring you people's stories about their personal encounters with the justice system.  As Tracey explains:

In this case is a blog of personal stories about the American legal system. If you’ve gone through a divorce or served on a jury, you have a story. If you’ve served time or argued in court, you have a story. Any personal experience with the law can be a story. These stories show when the law does and doesn’t work; how it angers and inspires us. They describe the law and what it means to us all living our modern lives here in our country. This blog brings these stories together so we can hear each other.

I edit the stories. Some are sent to me; some are drawn from interviews with people who want to talk in person. I keep each story as true as possible to the words and voice of each person. If you have a story for the blog, please let me know–I love to help people be heard.

This blog should be required reading for anyone interested in justice issues -- attorneys, law professors, local, state and federal government officials, probation officers, therapists, social workers, arbitrators, mediators, police, sheriffs, bailiffs, judges, court reporters (the stenographers of raw American conflict), students of the criminal and civil justice systems, law students, activists, preachers, teachers, spouses, people who would like to be spouses, people who are tired of being spouses, parents, and children over the age of consent . . . . . gee, I think that means everyone.

Let me rephrase.  This blog should be required reading for everyone.  It's a small but powerful exercise in little "d" democracy.  The kind that grows from the ground up.  Not the kind that is brought to you by foreign lands at the point of a gun. 

And following Tracey's example, I too will henceforth give credit to the myriad flickr photographers whose photos I use more than once a grateful day of my year.