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Posted By: Jeff Lichtman

Barry, wealthy defendants don't 'buy'justice. If it were that simple, they'd write a check to the court and be done with it. OJ's situation had more to do with the makeup of the jury than any trickery by the defense lawyers. Perhaps in your idealized world that set of African-American jurors would not have been so quick to forgive another African-American for murdering his white wife and her white friend. I think your liberal guilt is simply clouding your perception as to what really happened in that case, which was hardly symptomatic of what is wrong with our criminal justice system.

I agree that the system can be tough on poor people and that the public defenders of our country are often stretched too thin to put in the same time and resources as retained counsel on cases. But why not compare the resources of a wealthy defendant with the resources of the federal government, the dozens of FBI agents and prosecutors that work on many cases for years both before an indictment and up to trial? And how about the press which often convicts a defendant before the case even starts? Rarely do you see the press calling for an acquittal in a case before a trial begins. I can recall one very high profile case I was in in which the prosecutor pulled me aside before the trial and told me that all he had to do was mention my client's name before the jury as much as possible in order to gain a conviction. (Happy to report that he was wrong on that count)

Is it so bad that a defendant seeks to level the playing field a tiny bit before a trial? And while you decry how unfair the criminal justice system here in America is, find me another country that does better and provides more rights to the accused.