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

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