The Legal System's Role in Perpetuating Disparities
The law as gates: protecting elites, blocking others.
By Yaphet Davis
A close look at the criminal legal system reveals that many laws are created to target vulnerable and marginalized people while protecting the elite.
In other words, maintain the status quo.
On February 16, 2024, Judge Arthur Engoron ruled that President Donald Trump and his organization "deceived lenders, insurers and tax authorities by inflating the value of his properties using misleading appraisals." The judge ordered Trump and his adult sons to pay a penalty of $355 million for their transgressions.
While this may appear to be a harsh penalty, the average U.S. citizen is imprisoned for less egregious white-collar offenses.
In the book Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson contends that a disturbing legislative trend has resulted in the increased incarceration of vulnerable groups such as women of color. Stevenson recounts the story of the first woman he met in prison. She tells him of how she is serving time for writing bad checks to buy her kids Christmas presents.
Stevenson writes: “I couldn't accept the truth of what she was saying until I checked her file and discovered that she had, in fact, been convicted and sentenced to over ten years in prison for writing five checks, including three to Toys "R" Us. None of the checks was for more than $150. She was not unique. Thousands of women have been sentenced to lengthy terms in prison for writing bad checks or for minor property crimes that trigger mandatory minimum sentences.”
The intricate web of our legal system is threaded with discernible biases. With a scrutinizing eye, one can readily see that the laws of our country are designed to subtly reinforce existing social disparities while safeguarding the elite.
Imagine society as a towering mountain whose peak represents the elite 1% who control most wealth and power. Near the summit sits a gate stretching out from the sides of the mountain.
For those at the mountain's base, the gate acts as a barrier, preventing upward mobility and access to the elite status enjoyed by the 1%. Conversely, for those at the top, the gate functions as a safety net, ensuring they are protected from falling too far down the social ladder.
This gate symbolizes the legal system, which actively reinforces the position of the elite minority by perpetuating societal inequalities. Biased policing, prosecutorial disparities, and discriminatory laws and regulations all serve to maintain the status quo, deepening existing social divides.
Conversely, legal loopholes for corporate entities and lenient consequences for a range of white-collar crimes ensure that the privileged are protected.
In the spirit of trickle-down economics, some might contend that protecting the 1% is necessary to sustain our thriving economy. In fact, in reference to the tremendously lucrative variation of fraud that Trump committed, elitist Kevin O'Leary (aka Mr. Wonderful from the show Shark Tank) called it a victimless crime. Outraged, O'Leary stated that every real estate developer "ever" would be guilty of this.
Interestingly, the belief that Trump's business tactic is a victimless crime is also an admission that it is a crime. Still, elitists like O'Leary express shock and awe that one of their members has been penalized for what is deemed normative to them.
However, when the elite are allowed to defraud our banks and other financial institutions, as Trump has done for decades, there are fewer resources for those of us who need them most. We are the victims.
A critical examination of the laws that disproportionately impact marginalized groups reveals a design to perpetuate and reinforce existing power dynamics.
We must confront the systemic disparities that safeguard the privileged class to move toward a more equitable society. I'm not a proponent of the carceral system, but I do believe that the framework of our legal system should work to benefit all citizens equally, regardless of financial or social status.
