best and good enough

In The Verdict, the defendant's lawyer uses the best evidence rule to get a photocopy (xerox copy in those days) disallowed, and in fact, the entire testimony of a surprise rebuttal witness is thrown out. The jury is instructed to disregard her damning testimony but instead they bring justice when they return to the courtroom. Even the crusty and somewhat slimy judge is won over in the course of the trial. If only life were like the movies, where good overcomes evil in the end, lives are reclaimed and there is not only due process, but justice too. And now I have to write a one page paper about the best evidence rule, in order to get one extra point on my Evidence grade. The interesting thing is that I think just about the entire class is taking advantage of this one extra point. Each point is priceless, in one way or another. What I really want to write about is Beethoven's Emperor Concerto, and humanity, and how each day someone wins a piece of that which is good for themselves. Sometimes it is lost, in fact whole chunks of it are lost. But there is a day, a time, when one can see the balance, and it is good enough.