I used to admire lawyers and judges and even dreamed of becoming one. That was a long time ago, back when I could barely tell my left hand from my right. Nearly three decades later, I’m not even sure I’d want any of my children to follow that path. You might be wondering, why?
The answer is simple: human laws aren’t designed for justice. What we proudly call the justice system often delivers anything but justice.
When a prosecutor presents a case in court, the defense lawyer’s first instinct is to find a loophole to get the case dismissed on technical grounds. Lawyers know exactly what I mean. Sometimes, the defense wins that gamble; sometimes, they don’t. But even when the case survives the technicalities, that’s no guarantee of justice. The defense might still win, not because the accused is innocent, but because the argument was more convincing. All through the process, one question rarely gets asked: Is the accused truly innocent or guilty?