It has been said that we do not have a justice system, we have a legal system. What does that mean? Simply put, it means that we, in our efforts to build a civil society that allows us to enjoy the freedoms enumerated in our constitution, have a system through which we resolve conflicts. It is a crude tool to help us create some approximation of justice while considering all the possible effects of our attempts to create this thing we term justice.
Sometimes it works, sometimes it fails. Sometimes it is a shining beacon of hope. Sometimes a tool of oppression.
But more than anything it is a reflection of our society. Though we tell others and ourselves that we believe the truth is important, lying is so commonplace now in the family courts that they are sometimes referred to as “liars courts”. Perjury is virtually never punished.
