During the Obama administration, there were voices who claimed that the United States was on the verge of having a two-tiered system of justice. A claim of this sort was nothing new as it has always been acknowledged that an individual’s ability to hire the best mouthpiece (lawyer) for the money impacted the justice system. Our nation has had a long litany of unequal justice, but they have been addressed and attempts have been made to correct the errors within the system.
The claims of a two-tiered justice system during the Obama administration were different, for the abuses were not the actions of a local sheriff or a misguided judge but were rather abuses from the very top of the law enforcement system. The beginnings of the politization of Federal agencies, such as the IRS, the office of the Attorney General, the Department of Justice, the FBI and others stuck at the very foundations of the Republic. That politization of the DOJ and FBI, carried through into the Trump administration as officials within those departments turned their powers against the duly elected President.
Today, we see a lengthening record of a two-tiered system of justice, and it is more open, more repugnant than ever before. The linked article by Victor Davis Hanson outlines only the most grievous examples as our system of justice is being warped for political ends. It is unfortunate that despite the best of intentions, our justice system has never reached perfection, but have we gone so far down the other path that we can still regain our sense of dignity and some sense of idealism? I hope not.
https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/hanson-two-sets-of-laws-for-two-americas
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