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The United States Declaration of Independence proclaims that all men are created equal, but in practice, no two people are treated equally by law.  In fact, one is not even expected to understand how to apply the law themselves, instead they are expected to hire a lawyer to navigate the complexities and subtleties of the law whenever the need arises. Despite that Miranda rights guarantee a defendant’s right to a lawyer, even if they cannot afford one, lawyers that are forced to take on these pro-bono cases are often already handling other paying cases, and thus have no financial incentive to prepare and present a proper defense in court for their poor clients.  Conversely, someone with a lot of money can hire an accomplished attorney that will be willing to spare no expense in order to achieve the desired outcome.

Furthermore, the concept of a fair and impartial trial by peers breaks down in circumstances where a celebtiry is involved. For example, football star and actor O.J. Simpson was accused of a brutal double murder, and stood trial in the state of California.  Simpson was already a pop culture icon, even before his infamous attempt to flee police in a White Bronco gained the attention of every media outlet.  It would be laughable to have assembled any mentally or socially competent jury of 12 that could honestly say they had heard nothing about the case already in order to hear it from an impartial viewpoint.  Simpson also had one of the most skilled — and expensive — legal panels ever put together for a single case, and in fact the defense team was popularly referred to as the ‘Dream Team’ by media.  This case, amongst countless others, are excellent examples of the inequities of our legal system.