Justice - at what price?

There were tears of joy as the news of the acquittal sunk in. I stood afar as I watched the client teared, the family members rejoicing and expressing their gratitude towards their Defence Counsel (my supervising solicitor). While he had previously carried an air of indignance, fear, and worry, these are now replaced with relief.  

Since the onset of the investigation, the criminal proceedings had hung over him for more 2 years. He had maintained his innocence since the first time he stepped into the law firm. He never wavered when the Prosecution amended to a lesser charge or the amount involved (something critical in a property offence). This was so even when going for trial to prove his innocence would be far costlier. On the other hand, if he elected to plead guilty, a fine might have been imposed.

When I was in the UK, one thing I learnt about miscarriage of justice is how people can plead guilty to crimes they did not commit as the short-term benefits outweigh the long term ones. In this case, the imposition of a fine would be a far cheaper alternative (in terms of economics). However, the client was insistent that he would never plead guilty to something he did not do. As a matter of principle, it cannot be done. He is right.

I applaud the client for his courage to fight for his innocence; the team was glad that he was acquitted. However, I could not shake off the lingering questions on the amount of legal costs spent on proving his innocence. What if the same amount was spent on a less-able Defence Counsel who botched up the job? What if the client was someone else with lesser financial abilities, would the same person have pleaded guilty just to reduce the financial burden? Justice has been administered – but at what cost?

As much as my questions are hypothetical, they are real factors of considerations by people facing legal problems. Just a day before the above incident, I sat through a meeting where a person who wanted to fight against a potential action simply had no financial ability to do so; the financial limits effectively ousted the weightier matter of rectitude and justice.

Are we placing a price-tag on justice?