We believe the earthly court doesn’t have the final say; there’s a Ribbono shel Olam Who is the Ultimate Judge
I’m frequently asked, “What do you do if your client is guilty?”
Growing up, my children simply knew, “All of Daddy’s clients are innocent.”
And in the American justice system, they are. Our system isn’t about whether someone did the act, but whether the government can prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. If it can’t, legally, the person is innocent, regardless of what actually transpired. In any event, everyone deserves representation, because mitigating circumstances may exist, even if wrongdoing occurred.
For a religious Jew, the concept that the guilty may get off in court should be more palatable. I know a non-Orthodox New York State Supreme Court judge who teaches comparative law, focusing on American law versus Jewish law. I always told him he’d never truly grasp the most fundamental difference between the two justice systems because concepts like Hashgachah Pratis and Olam Haba were not foundational truths for him.
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