Justice?

At Central Virginia Legal Aid Society, the attorneys represent clients in civil matters. An attorney's caseload might include matters in family law, landlord/tenant, or unemployment insurance. For a full list of the services at CVLAS, see here. This means that attorneys here don't handle criminal matters; indigent criminal clients are generally represented by public defenders.

However, the interns' work on civil cases does not preempt their interest in criminal matters. Like much of America, the interns have been caught up in the Casey Anthony trial. We all watched the reading of the verdict today, and we have had many debates on the outcome. Why are we so fascinated? Is it because, as law students, we are unconsciously drawn to all things legal? Is it because we have nothing better to do with our spare time without massive law school reading assignments? Or is it because, like most Americans, we want to see justice done? Although all of these are probably true, I think the last is the most important reason we care so much about this trial and the work we do each day.

As interns, we have begun to see behind the scenes of our justice system. I believe many of us have found that it is not the efficient, effective, and (dare I say it?) fair process we hoped it would be. As United State Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. once said, "This is a court of law . . . not a court of justice." After a difficult hearing in which our client lost, one of the CVLAS attorneys counseled his client that "the law doesn't always provide justice."

This may be true, but in only a few short months, the interns have seen justice done. An unlawfully evicted family of four was returned to their home. A former employee who lost his job through no fault of his own received unemployment insurance so that he could feed his family while he worked to find a new position. A hardworking mother of two young children obtained a protective order against her abusive boyfriend, ensuring that her family would no longer have to suffer domestic abuse at his hands.

The interns have met incredible people who are committed to justice: CVLAS attorneys and support staff, judges, clients, and yes, even opposing counsel. Our justice system may not perfect, but we rely on it to make our society a better place. With these people fighting for fairness and equality, I believe that America becomes greater each day. This is why we are in law school, and it is why we intern with legal aid. We may or may not agree with the verdict in the Casey Anthony trial today, but we remain steadfast in our belief in the American legal system. While it does not always provide a perfect solution, more often than not, it does provide justice.