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JusticeForThePoor 3 - 28 Mar 2012 - Main.AgnesPetrucione
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| | Hearing about the Trayvon Martin case, I can't help but think about a past Moglen discussion. His observation that the criminal justice system
is just to the poor and kind to the rich can also be applied to how races are viewed in the court system and in public opinion. I was baffled in a recent Matt Lauer interview of Trayvon's parents. At one point he urged the family to not "jump to conclusions" and pass judgment on Zimmerman. Ummm...what?? Some cases are murky. Some have grey areas and nuance. What is so striking about Trayvon's case is the lack of nuance. I don't think there's been a case so public in recent years that has in fact be so void of complexity. | | | The more discretion allowed, the weaker the law is within the legal system and the more room there is for other forces to control outcomes. Prejudice, bloodlust, and personal idiosyncrasies can prevent "the law" from being applied. I think you are entirely right, in that justice for the poor and kindness to the rich in social and public sentiments further augments the law's already (possibly) biased text.
-- AlexKonik - 28 Mar 2012 | |
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> | Alex's point reminds me of an article I read (it is an unpublished article, so no link) that discussed how although laws concerning consent with regard to rape is often sufficient, they are often not followed, thereby losing their effectiveness. Intake police officers would exercise their own prejudices during the intake process and may dismiss cases as lacking basis. This extends to judges as well, who also exercise their own prejudices. And yet, on the other side, we hear concern for the men who might be falsely accused. Although I am sure there are some instances in which an accusation of rape is false, I think that this example is highly analogous to society being "just to the poor and kind to the rich." And, it is another instance showing law as a weak force.
The disadvantaged members of our society are silenced in many ways, mostly by social forces that have nothing to do with the law. I think that is partly why some people have a hard time accepting, in cases such as Trayvon's, that such a horribly unfair thing could happen - because they have never experienced such "justice" themselves, and it is easier to deny it.
-- AgnesPetrucione - 27 Mar 2012 |
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