Tagged: judges

“In a system that holds out the oath and the promise of truthfulness in the courtroom as key means of achieving both coherence and factual accuracy, any practice through which participants lie repeatedly in violation of a sworn duty destabilizes the system by showing truth to be a subordinate value. When the lying involves judges and attorneys who are themselves ‘officers of the court’ and under a professional obligation to maintain the integrity of the system, the corrosive potential multiplies. If prosecutors tolerate perjury, then the threat of perjury prosecution loses its efficacy as a truth-enforcing mechanism. If jurors systematically violate their oaths, jury verdicts are always suspect. If judges rule in favor of police officers who are obviously lying, the credibility with which judges invoke the coercive power of their office is diminished. Ultimately, systemic lying has the capacity to undermine the justice system to a fatal extent by replacing the mechanism of truth with an inferior and dangerous substitute, the lie for a ‘good’ cause.”

Source: Julia Simon-Kerr. “Systemic Lying.” pg. 39-40. September 27, 2014.