One thing I learned studying law is that a lot of what people do every day is illegal and much of our ability to live in society is predicated on the discretionary non-application of laws.
Now ask yourself: how scary would it be if people started religiously enforcing every single law against you? How quickly would your life crumble?
What if we add laws of sufficiently vague and case-by-case application that you need to go through a whole trial before the claim against you fails?
What if we add claims that are ludicrous enough to be rapidly dismissed—but not before you’ve sent tens of thousands of dollars?
What if we add claims that are ludicrous enough to be rapidly dismissed—but not before you’ve sent tens of thousands of dollars?
If you're Black, if you're marginalized, if someone decides they have it out for you, this can become your reality from one day to the next. And the legal system won't offer any protection because discretion is built into it.
Cases so egregious that they attract protection are few and far between. For everyone who has been wrongfully convicted, how many others were targeted, selectively charged and convicted in accordance with the law?
What does it say when society can only function when our system is laws is discretionarily applied to none but an infinitesimal proportion of all cases?
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