Anatomy of a Smear

We start with the proposition that there never has been, and there never will be, any such thing as “equal justice under law.” To be equal is to be identical. In both the criminal and the civil courts, circumstances are never identical. The skill of opposing counsel, the temperament of a presiding judge, the availability of witnesses, the demeanor and even the dress of a defendant—all these can influence the outcome of cases that seem similar but are not the same. John Randolph of Roanoke scoffed at the very notion of “equality.” Did he agree that all men are created equal? “I do not believe it,” said Randolph, “and for the best of all reasons: because it is not so.”

But if the ideal of equal justice under law is unattainable in our society, the ideal itself still shines and beckons. It is a kind of Holy Grail, always to be sought, never to be reached. And because a great many people still cherish this ideal, Congress in 1974 established the Legal Services Corporation as an independent entity within the Federal Government.

JJ

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James Jackson Kilpatrick

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We start with the proposition that there never has been, and there never will be, any such thing as “equal justice under law.” To be equal is to be identical. In both the criminal and the civil courts, circumstances are never identical. The skill of opposing counsel, the temperament of a presiding judge, the availability of witnesses, the demeanor and even the dress of a defendant—all these can influence the outcome of cases that seem similar but are not the same. John Randolph of Roanoke scoffed at the very notion of “equality.” Did he agree that all men are created equal? “I do not believe it,” said Randolph, “and for the best of all reasons: because it is not so.”

But if the ideal of equal justice under law is unattainable in our society, the ideal itself still shines and beckons. It is a kind of Holy Grail, always to be sought, never to be reached. And because a great many people still cherish this ideal, Congress in 1974 established the Legal Services Corporation as an independent entity within the Federal Government.