What do you see as the value of our legal system?
- Gregory Cohen -
At the young age of 11, my aunt, my younger brother, and I were robbed at knifepoint by two men. Our assailants were later caught and brought to justice. I sat and watched first hand the intricacies of the United States Legal System at work. This sparked an immediate interest in me to learn and understand more about exactly how this judicial machine worked.
I acquired a desire to explore and understand a system which I know little about. I began to learn its inner working and how equality and justice was delivered. The further I investigated, the more I began to understand. Our judiciary is based on the premise where a defendant is innocent until proven guilty; where an individual has the right to have legal council; and to have a person's fate decided by a jury of their peers.
Through my continuous investigation, it became apparent how valuable and important our legal system is. It addresses the paramount issue that everyone has the right to have their case heard. Whether a person is black or white, a northerner or southerner, a millionaire or a pauper; each person has an equal standing in the court of law. Lawyers stand by their client's side and defend their rights to their utmost ability.
If fascinates me how at every turn, the law permeates everything. I have come to believe that without a fair and balanced legal system, civilization would cease to exist. Crucial to a society, is the importance of having equal rights for every individual and for everyone to have a fighting chance for something they believe is right. If not for a functioning legal system, there would be no one to judge what is right or wrong; there would be no definitive way to argue the ambiguity of what is acceptable or not.
For these reasons, law interests me. To be able to defend a person's inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is not only a career to me, but a calling. I will one day stand before a jury of my client's peers and fight for what I believe in. It is a beautiful idea that however specific law may be, its interpretation of what is right is still open to a judge's ruling. In the not so distant future, I will be able to make my case, present my evidence, and await adjudication.