Money and Justice: High-Profile Cases Essay

Introduction

It is estimated that thousands of persons bracketed in the ‘poor’ sector of society go to jail annually in the United States without having spoken to a lawyer (Parker). On the other hand, those who are rich can hire the best possible lawyers, who in turn can get their clients acquitted at any cost – always financial of course. There have been several high-profile cases in the recent past that lend substances to this observation.

Examples of the case

Singing sensation Michael Jackson was repeatedly accused of child molestation. Each time when it seemed that the singer would, at last, receive a stringent sentence, he used his vast wealth as a magic wand to wriggle free, paying his alleged victims huge sums to withdraw their accusations and refuse to testify against him. For example, Jackson paid a $ 2.4 million settlement to the son of a Neverland maid in 1990. In another case, he paid Jordan Chandler a $ 20 million settlement in 1993 (Spilbor).

American National Football League star Ray Anthony ‘Ray’ Lewis was accused of murdering Jacinth Baker and Richard Lollar on January 31, 2001. Ray’s lawyer arranged with the prosecuting attorney to drop the murder accusation against his client and replace it instead with a minor misdemeanor charge. Ray was eventually sentenced to mere one-year probation, that too without surveillance and restriction. Ray went on to pay unrevealed amounts as settlement to the families of Lollar and Baker in April 2004, thus effectively preventing them from initiating any further litigation against him.

A third example is the case of another American National Football League star – O.J. Simpson. At the end of high-profile legal proceedings that was highlighted by the media all over the world, Simpson’s lawyer Yale Galanter saw to it that his client was cleared of charges of murdering his ex-wife Nicole and her male companion Ron Goldman in 1994. Galanter was instrumental in getting Simpson’s case relegated to a civil court which declared him liable for the deaths of the two persons and ordered him to pay $ 38 million to the estate of Ron Goldman and $ 24.7 million to the Brown family of Nicole (International Herald Tribune).

The perilous predicament of poor people in the U.S. unable to spend for their legal defense is best highlighted by the James Thomas case. Thomas was interned in the Louisiana penitentiary while waiting to undergo a formal trial for the 1996 murder of a Baton Rouge man – a crime Thomas insisted he was never guilty of. When his trial finally took place, the jurors acquitted him after just 80 minutes of deliberations. James Thomas walked away from a free man but at a terrible price – he had languished in prison for 10 years while waiting for a formal trial. The first 3 years were spent while authorities struggled to locate public defenders to try his case. The remaining years went by as one inexperienced lawyer after another put in futile efforts on his behalf (Parker).

Reflection

I can vouch for the sad plight of poor Americans entering the legal arena in our country. I recently visited the traffic court in my town to clear a traffic rule infringement charge. Being not financially well placed, I could not hire a lawyer to handle the matter. This proved to be a great drawback as the stern-faced judge threw the book at me and imposed the maximum fine possible. I left flabbergasted, not so much at the volume of the fine imposed on me, but at what I witnessed in the adjoining courtroom on my way out. I saw a slick lawyer clear his client of all charges in a matter of minutes. The experience convinced me that money talks injustice; money talks so well that justice meekly listens and manipulates the case to suit the requirements of the all-powerful money-wielding players.

References

“Family of Nicole Brown Simpson Seeks Share of O.J. Simpson Book Rights.” International Herald Tribune. 2007. Web.

Parker, Laura. “Acquitted Man: That’s 10 Years They Can Never Replace.” USA Today. 2007.

“Ray Lewis (American Football).” 2007.

Spilbor, Jonna M. “The Michael Jackson Case.” CNN.Com. 2005.