And Justice For All?

Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! For ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers.”

—Luke 11:46

There comes a moment in nearly every life when we first collide with the legal system. It might be buying a first home, navigating a work dispute, showing up to small claims court, or facing a painful family matter. Most people walk in expecting fairness—that justice is blind, the rules are clear, the judges impartial, and the lawyers working toward resolution.

But after 25 years in employment law, I’ve had to break it to many good people: that vision of the legal system is a myth. Trials rarely happen. Correctional systems rarely correct. And mandatory arbitration? That’s not justice—it’s a privatized echo of it, hidden behind closed doors and stacked decks.

The system has grown into something alien—bureaucratic, bloated, and incomprehensible to those who need it most. Worst of all, it often feels like it was designed to confuse, to delay, and to profit.

Yes, I understand the strange comfort in hiring a lawyer—the yellow legal pad, the solemn nods, the assurances that “you have a case.” But what I’ve seen, too many times, is the shock that follows—the first bill arrives, the retainer’s gone, and nothing is resolved. The case hasn’t even really started.

And now? The rot isn’t just at the margins—it’s deep in the system.

In Georgia, a trial court issued a ruling based entirely on hallucinated, AI-generated case law. Fake citations. Nonexistent precedent. No pushback. And when the case went up on appeal? Both sides—both sides—submitted briefs citing more phantom cases. Twelve in total. No real oversight. No functioning safety net.

And in Maryland? All fifteen federal judges on the bench have now retained private legal counsel amid a controversy that’s shaken public confidence in the judiciary. These aren’t criminal cases—they’re credibility crises. But the message is loud and clear: even those wearing the robes now feel the need for protection.

This is no longer just a flawed system. It’s a system unraveling under the weight of its own contradictions. And yet everyday people—like my friend—are expected to walk into court and trust that justice will be done. That someone will listen. That truth matters. That fairness wins.

If I sound jaded, I won’t apologize. I am jaded. Because I’ve watched how this system breaks people. And I’ve watched how it rarely holds itself accountable.

Let me leave you with this:

Most new judges in America are required to complete less training than manicurists in California, who must log 400 hours of practice before taking their exam.

And as Charles Dickens once wrote:

“The one great principle of the English law is to make business for itself. There is no other principle distinctly, certainly, and consistently maintained through all its narrow turnings.”