True Justice for All

"Wilt thou indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? ⬦Shall not the Judge of all earth do justly?" (Bible, Gen. 18.23.25)

This great admonition by the patriarch comes to mind when I listen to the famous attorneys defending O.J. Simpson. I think of Abraham pleading to save the wicked lives of Sodom from destruction. Abraham knows well enough that the wicked must not prosper, but he still demands of G‑do find some reason to save them.

I guess it' become the 'in thing' for Jewish attorneys to defend all kinds of accused criminals. Under the guise of carrying out the work of Abraham they can rationalize saving the wicked from punishment. I wonder if that's right. Maybe attorneys should rethink their purpose when practicing law.

I ask, "What makes an attorney famous?" According to world opinion it's when they successfully protect the rich, the affluent and the notorious. It makes no difference to the attorney if they are defending a tax evader, a child abuser, a pornographer, a murderer, a rapist, or a person who commits patricide. If they, the accused, need help with their defense, and they, or someone else, can pay for it, then the attorney steps in to help. When the celebrated attorneys plead their case and win, perhaps on a technicality, they become even more famous. Now let's be honest! Are they really winning for their clients and justice or are they more interested in creating a name for themselves? What message are they giving the innocent and, for that matter, to the accused?

"How much justice can I get," is translated to,  "How much money do I pay for my defense?" "How much justice can I get for my client," is now interpreted to mean "How much money can I make?"

Spiritually speaking, can you imagine, a famous modern-day attorney in heaven. There he would have a very hard time explaining to G‑d that his good deeds in this world were protecting crooks from conviction?! For the average person he did nothing. What  shame, he would feel.

Nowadays the public is truly confused by what is happening in the world of justice. For example, O.J.'s main attorney, Mr. Shapiro, is portraying Simpson as a battered man who must be protected from a zealous hanging mob. Nothing can be further from the truth. He asks that the host of incriminating objects, starting with the bloody car and tissue samples, be disallowed, all in the name of honesty.

Any thinking person knows that there is a lot more taking place. After hearing the 911 transcript and reading the police report of O.J. bashing the window of his wife's car, one can see trouble. If there is no case, why does Mr. Shapiro need to bring in attorney Alan Dershowitz and his kind?

We need to re-evaluate our duties in making sure that justice is really being carried out. In the Bible it says, "Justice, justice, shall you pursue." (Deut. 16:20). The term justice is repeated. This teaches us that  the justice for the poor should be the same as for the rich! There should not be two sets of justice.

In the 14th edition of Brewer's Edition of Phrase and Fable, there is a listing for, poetic justice. "The ideal justice which poets exercise in making the good happy and the bad unsuccessful." In today's world poetic justice has come to mean just the opposite, making the good unsuccessful and the bad happy.

All this must end. Jewish attorneys  should be famous for saving the poor in neglected areas. They should and can find those who cannot care for themselves. There are many victims of crimes, injustice.

Instead of defending murderers, they should go after them.

Let them make sure that those who kill or hurt people are punished. What's been happening to the elderly left behind in the so called inner-cities is deplorable. Where are Bailey, Dershowitz, Shapiro and others? Why do we only hear about them when it comes to defending rich and famous.

On a national picture, why not protect the rights of Jewish communities by getting them Federal help and grants?

Attorneys must become famous more for their kindness and not famous for protecting  accused murderers They must show  advocacy for the poor and unprotected. Sensational cases are great if they help society but not great when getting criminals off on technicalities or deadlocked juries.

On the other hand it is a great deed to help people whenever possible. But, it must be performed with true honesty and not at the cost of society.

Lets hope that we will witness attorneys become famous by putting away the wicked and helping make society a better  place for everybody.