How the OJ Simpson Trial Exposed a Major Flaw in the Legal System.
The OJ Simpson murder trial, exposed a grand fault in the legal system. In the documentary: OJ Made in America, it brought forth the revelation that OJ Simpson was paying his lawyer somewhere around $50,000 a day. With figures later estimating that the case cost him all in all around $5 million dollars. It is agreed upon by many that a flaw in the legal system is that it benefits those who can pay for it. From the way the bail system is setup, to the aforementioned lawyer fees. However, the real issue comes from the money the state has to spend on these cases. It is as simple as this, the more money the defense spends on legal fees, the more money the state will have to spend to match those, in order to put up a good fight. A perfect example of this was the OJ Simpson trial. The trial in total cost taxpayers around nine million dollars. There's a direct correlation between the money spent by the defense and the money it cost taxpayers. When people put on trial splurge exorbitantly on legal fees and lawyers, the only people that benefiting are these private lawyers themselves. Would our legal system be more economically efficient, if we were to change the way people were represented? I don't see a problem with people with more money spending more money on defense, but surely there is a better outcome than it costing the taxpayers.
I agree that the legal system gives the wealthy an unfair advantage. Some states have tried to lessen this, like California which decided to stop monetary bail so as to stop discrimination against impoverished defendants. But rectifying the advantage the wealthy have in their defense is a trickier issue with no clear solve. Also, as a side note, you have written that OJ spent roughly $5,000 a day but I believe the estimated number was actually roughly $50,000 a day.
ReplyDeleteI like this blog post. It clearly explains your views on the legal system, as well as the OJ Simpson trial. I personally think that when a celebrity is being tried in court, the state , as well as those who support them, should have to pay the most money. It is unfair to those who don't support or care about a celebrity to be forced to pay for their trial, when they don't even know anything about them. However, I also believe that everyone deserves a fair trial, and in this case, I don't think OJ really had one; mostly because of the fact that it was so widely televised. This gave ample time and opportunity for people, even the jurors, to form preconceived opinions about him, that could easily affect their final verdict.
ReplyDeleteI think that the OJ Simpson trial definitely exposed flaws in the legal system. I strongly agree with you that the financial aspect of trials are a major problem and that the system needs a new solution so that the majority of the finances don't fall on taxpayers. I believe that taxpayers will have to pay some amount but that the State should bear the majority. This is just one of the flaws that this case has exposed, with others including race in America, and the unfair advantage that celebrities may have in trials. I personally believe the problem of race in America is the biggest flaw that the legal system has, and that it is in desperate need of a solution in order for this country to progress into an equal society.
ReplyDelete