From the Summit of the Moral High Ground

 There is a phrase which seems to sit somewhere in the background of almost every bureaucracy: "Leave the lawyers to sort it out." It is a remarkably convenient phrase. The civil servant can make the decision. The administrator can impose the condition. The prison officer can take the action. The politician can announce the policy. And if somebody complains that what has been done is unlawful, unfair or unjust, there is always another department waiting somewhere in the background. The lawyers will sort it out. Except that lawyers are not some magical mechanism for turning injustice into justice. They are human beings too. And they operate within an economic system. The Price of Justice One of the most uncomfortable things I have learned from my experiences with the Jersey legal system is how quickly the question of justice can become a question of economics. How much is the case worth? How much can the client afford? How much time can be justi...