By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | In pictures and words in Western society, we understand justice to be blind, meted without favor to rich or poor, powerful or powerless, famous or average Joe.
“Justice for all,” we recite in the Pledge of Allegiance. The concept of equal justice is a foundation of American jurisprudence. Everyone is supposed to be treated the same in the eyes of the law if they run afoul of it.
So what do we make of the concept of justice when we read of the mistrial this week of Michael Slager, the former North Charleston police officer who shot to death an unarmed man fleeing from a traffic stop?
In our legal system, justice on earth is done when a jury of peers establishes whether someone accused of a crime is guilty or innocent after hearing the facts of a case. Depending on the verdict, the accused is punished or set free.
More than anything, justice in our court system is a process. And yes, it should be a blind process that ensures everyone is treated the same.
But that’s theory. Data show black or poor Americans often face far different outcomes, such as higher arrest and incarceration rates, than white or rich Americans for a multitude of reasons – deeper pockets, better lawyers, cultural assumptions, cozy relationships and more.
Celebrated African-American poet Langston Hughes described in four lines what many black Americans have felt for years – that justice in their world is best described as police looking at “just us” to find perpetrators of crimes. Hughes wrote in 1932:
That Justice is a blind goddess
Is a thing to which we black are wise:
Her bandage hides two festering sores
That once perhaps were eyes.
The mistrial declared in the case of Michael Slager leaves justice undone in the shooting death of Walter Scott. Neither guilt nor innocence has been decided by a jury. The process is not yet completed.
So what are we to make of this statement by Gov. Nikki Haley following the declaration of a mistrial in the Scott case? She said: “It is my understanding that there will be, as quickly as possible, a new trial where the Scott family and all of South Carolina will hopefully receive the closure that a verdict brings.
“Justice is not always immediate, but we must all have faith that it will be served – I certainly do. I urge South Carolinians – in Charleston and across our state – to continue along the path we have walked these last two years: a path of grace, faith, love and understanding. That is who we are, and who I know we will continue to be.”
On one hand, the governor seems to suggest that people should have patience – that the judicial process will bring a verdict in the case in due time.
But can’t it be interpreted another, subtler way? That Haley is sending a message to the Scott family and black community at large that she thinks justice “will be served” in the next trial through a guilty verdict?
Under this interpretation, Haley’s statement poses a challenge for our courts. Assuming a guilty verdict before the process is complete could contribute to an erosion of the public’s trust in the judiciary. Since 2009, the public’s trust in the federal judiciary has dropped from 76 percent to 53 percent, according to a 2015 Gallup Poll.
Such an assumption also poses a challenge for law enforcement officers, who could interpret Haley’s statement as inconsiderate of facts brought out in the trial that might mitigate or explain Slager’s behavior.
In our country if any jury is to “do justice,” it is to treat someone accused fairly and consider all facts and evidence before rendering a verdict. If guilty, they are to be punished, which is why a blindfolded Lady Liberty also holds a sword.
“Justice” is delivered through a process. And that’s why we need to be patient as we wait for the outcome of a new trial for Michael Slager.
Not everyone will be happy with what happens eventually in Slager’s case. And if the jury gets it wrong in your view, at least he’ll face justice again – at the Pearly Gates.
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