Is it True that All Crimes are Bad But Not All Taken Seriously?
The following is an excerpt from my book, Disbarment, a legal thriller, by a lawyer arguing before the Supreme Court of Arizona:
"It's been said that everybody has his price and that we are all only average honest. Even the more honorable cheat on their income tax returns. Businessmen every day pocket cash revenues and don't report them. This practice is tolerated by society so long as they, of course, do not get 'caught'. Society even has different levels of honesty and it works something like this: It's tolerable to cheat insurance companies, lie about your children's ages at the theater ticket booth, and, of course, cheat on income tax returns."
Seymour paused, collecting his thoughts. Chief Justice Haskins seemed amused by his analysis. Seymour looked at the other justices, not so much to read their faces -- such thoughts didn't occur to him, but to see if he was holding their attention. Seeing two of the justices looking at the clock bothered him. He softened his voice, the change of pace causing lowered eyes to rise. "It is less tolerable, but sometimes accepted, if we cheat on examinations, lie about our age to draft boards, steal money from our mother's purse, or forget to tell the cashier at the restaurant that the waitress charged for one bowl of soup instead of two. Then, of course, we reach the intolerable limit. It is completely intolerable to rob a grocery store or to take another person's life."
Seymour began walking, again pounding his fist into his open hand in open protest to the outrages. The feeling of the courtroom had changed to uneasiness. Justice Pratt yawned wide, emitting a gasp as he inhaled deeply. "These inconsistent levels of honesty must be done away with. We must strengthen our moral fiber. Are Mr. Grewe's actions distinguishable from the trusted bank employee who embezzles funds? Mr. Hardy would have you believe so. I don't see it. I lack Mr. Hardy's eloquence. I don't have his appearance. But I have something that he doesn't have." Seymour stopped at his counsel table, his throat suddenly dry and his memory suddenly imprinted with that of a fat little boy of 14 standing before the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C., touched deeply by the symbol of those principles for which the great man stood. To Seymour, that was the turning point in his life. Then and there his future was decided. He would become a lawyer. "I have justice on my side and it doesn't ask why a wrongful act was committed!"
-JS
