They are entitled to only as much protection as they can afford. Today's Americans value reality-testing over sophistry, and desperately want their justice system to reflect this value. Nevertheless, skilled layers persistently exploit technicalities of the game to secure undeserved acquittals and false convictions. Although such results may gratify members of the legal profession, they insult the sensibilities of everyone else. Lawyers concentrate on winning to bolster their careers.
Judges concentrate on assuring that the players follow the rules.
Vigilantism is growing increasingly popular because our legal institutions have betrayed the trust of the people. If legal apologists want Americans to respect the institutions of the law, they must adopt humility and candor to admit that their game does not infallibly produce either truth or justice. This step may propel them toward instituting methods for seeking justice based on truth.