When I dabble in the theory of law, it deepens and enriches my study of the black letter law. For instance, it helps to see that one decision is simply a part of a pattern, a tapestry of living law. So when I read about a decision that makes me writhe with frustration and anger at the damage the law is doing, I remember that on a larger scale, justice does come, it just comes very slowly.
However, this does not guarantee individual justice, but rather a more collective, long term justice. Because the law is devised and administered by humans, and each of us as humans falls short of the ideal, so does the law fall short of justice in many particular instances. It only works as well as the messy people who apply it.
This is grievous to the one who seeks justice and is denied, especially in a criminal case where an innocent party is found guilty-it is heartbreaking. It is the end of the world. This brings my study of the theory of law back full circle and I long for a way to make it all function as it should. However, there is some value in the slow, arduous process and perhaps even some beauty. And I would not trade this messy system for one that is certain but rigid and unresponsive to forces of change.
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