Courts In To Kill A Mockingbird

Razib Ahmed
Ms. Yu (Pd. 8)
EEN42H-05
16 May, 2016

Throughout history, courts have been established to maintain stability in a society. Without courts these criminals would not have been brought to justice. This was created to serve everyone equally. This is why it is known as a great leveler. During this time the blacks were inferior to the white. I oppose the judicial system because I think that the judicial system is not a great leveler. This is because people still get treated unfairly. Some examples are portrayed in real life cases such as the Scottsboro Trials. Also, they can be portrayed in novels such as To Kill A Mockingbird. The judicial system was not a “great leveler” during the time it was created. In the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird”
Atticus claims,
“But there is one way this country in which all men are equal --- there is one human institution that makes a pauper the equal of a Rockefeller… That institution is the Supreme court of the United States or the humblest J.P court in the land… our courts have their faults as does any human institution… in this country are our courts are the great levelers, and in our courts all men are created equal.” (Page 274)
When Atticus says this he means that the United States is a country where everyone is equal.
Also, the judicial system makes people equal. But, he then says that courts can also be negative because it has many flaws in it. Although it has many flaws, people are still treated like any other person. During this trial it is different though. Tom Robinson accused guilty even though he was innocent. The jury still decided to accuse him as guilty even though they had solid evidence that proved it wasn’t him that raped Mayella. This shows us that people such as the jury would not believe a word that the blacks would
say.
There are many other examples that show why courts can also be negative in society. Another example is
“Benforado’s research shows that mistakes in the criminal justice system are more common than we like to think, and that our personal biases play a disturbingly strong role.” (Ana Swanson, The Washington Post).
Benforado’s research proves that a majority of the time during trials racism has had a big impact on who is guilty and who is innocent. There are so many people that have been accused of being guilty and ended up in jail. Lots of wrong people have been sent to jail because they were accused for something that they did not do. If the courts were legitimately a “great leveler” none of this would have occurred.
The judicial system is sometimes fair.
There have been cases where specifically black have been wrongly accused and sentenced to either death. They can also be sent to prison for a certain amount of time. An example of this is the Scottsboro trials. During this trial nine boys were accused of rape by these two girls. The court and jury believed the girls, even though they made up a story that was false. Afterall, the boys did not commit this act. Even though they were innocent the jury decided not to listen to a word that they said simply because they were colored. After several years, they were finally free. During this time it was unfair because black jurys were put on the bottom of the list so they couldn’t really do their obligation. Even today there were some cases where the court system was
unfair.
On the other hand, there have been times where the court system has truly shown what it is to be the “great leveler”. An example of this is “ The old courthouse clock suffered...eight deafening bongs” (Page 280) The jury left for an enormous amount of time. This can relate to how sometimes the court system is “equal”, the jury took their time to choose if Tom Robinson was guilty or innocent, the outcome was incorrect, but the jury did take their time. However, there are juries who might instantly just sentence the verdict guilty over their hatred towards the colored.
In conclusion, I think that the judicial system is not a great leveler.. There are many cases where the court system had unfairly accused someone of being guilty. They just make assumptions towards the colored because of their hatred. In the novel “To kill a Mockingbird” the jurors made Tom Robinson guilty even though he was innocent and they had solid evidence that he was not the one who committed this crime. Judicial systems are not always a good idea to find out who is guilty or innocent.