Sociology
The scale of injustice
Document Type
Book Chapter
Abstract
The phrase “miscarriage of justice” connotes a failing of monumental scale. First, the phrase suggests an event—a decision, a verdict, an act—that is exceptional, a singular betrayal of the established ideals and practices of law. The word “miscarriage” suggests an untoward event, an unexpected interruption in an otherwise unfolding of a process. A “miscarriage of justice” is a derailment, as if justice is the default category. The phrase also conveys the gravity of this failing or derailment. When we speak of a “miscarriage of justice” we imagine lives are shattered and destroyed, freedoms lost, and cherished ideals undermined:...
Publication Title
When Law Fails: Making Sense of Miscarriages of Justice
Publication Date
12-2009
First Page
303
Last Page
327
ISBN
9780814740514
Keywords
injustice, courts, law
Repository Citation
Ewick, Patricia, "The scale of injustice" (2009). Sociology. 48.
https://commons.clarku.edu/faculty_sociology/48