It’s no secret there are more lawyers per capita in the United States than in any other country in the world. According to the American Bar Association, 1.35 million lawyers were practicing during 2022. Aside from using a handgun to shoot an enemy, the American way of settling disputes usually means litigation. Even so, because wealthy people use a huge share of legal resources, underprivileged people have scant access to our civil justice system. In fact, the US “lags behind in providing access to disadvantaged groups. Legal assistance is frequently expensive or unavailable, and the gap between rich and poor individuals in terms of both actual use of and satisfaction with the civil court system is significant. In addition there is a perception that ethnic minorities and foreigners receive unequal treatment.” (OneJustice, 2021) Our justice system is a stacked deck favoring those who have the most resources and those who are eager to keep it that way, a conclusion which should shock no one.
In theory our justice system is supposed to treat well-heeled and underprivileged equally. It does not. In criminal cases, money bail is an obvious example of legal disparity. If charged with a crime and one has sufficient funds, one may stay out of jail during a pretrial period; plus have a much better chance of not going to jail at all—if one is rich. If poor, however, one may sit in jail for a long time before being convicted or exonerated of a crime. In a real sense, the scales of justice weigh heavily in favor of well-moneyed people. The most vulnerable are most likely to fall prey to our knee-to-the-throat money bail system. Likewise, in civil justice court, we still have the equivalent of debtor’s prisons. When trouble comes to a disadvantaged or poor person, jail or an unfair judgement is likely, unlike what happens to someone with a big bank account. If a defendant owes court fees or cannot pay a traffic fine, for instance, in many states the scofflaw will be held in jail until a resolution can be found. Though we are led to believe all people are treated equally in our justice system, on most judicial levels, courts rig the scales for the upper classes. Justice, it appears, is not blind, and she has her hand out for the appropriate gratuity, not to mention a thumb on the scales to favor people with cash and influence. Alas, she deals harshly with people who are poor, BIPOC, or otherwise disadvantaged. A two-tiered justice system is the American way.
A prime example of wealth delaying or undermining justice is seen in none other than Donald Trump who has been playing the legal system like it’s both a lance and a shield. Since 1980, he has been involved in 3500 legal actions in Federal and state courts according to USA Today. Until now, he has been unassailable because he has used the legal system and his army of attorney consiglieres to protect his interests. He plays with a stacked deck. He habitually sues others. He uses the justice system to one-sidedly delay justice, a legal rope-a-dope strategy. He lawyers up. He doubles down. He’ll sue if you offend him. If you sue him, he’ll sue you right back. He almost never gets an unfair shake because he has a squad of lawyers filing briefs, making appeals, and keeping him far wide of imminent trouble. During his tenure as president, he tried repeatedly to use the power of the justice system to harass and prosecute those whom he perceived as enemies. More, he promises to weaponize the DOJ Department and to pursue his enemies if he is reelected in 2024. Now, a year before the next presidential election, that the tables are turned, he cries foul, the victim of a “witch hunt.” And it remains to be seen if he will finally be held accountable. If not, the indictment ought to be leveled against our two-tiered justice system.