Harvard Students Still Support U.S. Judiciary

The O.J. saga continues.

Prominent attorney and former Simpson counsel F. Lee Bailey was imprisoned last week after being held in contempt of court for his failure to turn over $24 million in stock to the federal government. The stock was rendered as payment to Bailey by a former client.

But while many Americans appear to be losing faith in the justice system in the aftermath of the O.J. trial, a number of Harvard students interviewed said they still generally believe in the system, despite some lingering concerns.

According to law student Chryssa V. Deliganis, the American public needs to understand that while "it's easy to get cynical when we see O.J. get off, it's the best system that we have."

Although some students said juries will, on occasion, base their decisions less on facts and more on the performance of the defendant's lawyer, they said the trial system is usually effective.

"People are influenced by factors outside the law and even the evidence that's presented to them," said law student Christopher M. Kelly. "But the jury system also provides for a lot of credibility when you get convictions."

But Harvard law students and undergraduates said they believe wealthy defendants may have a greater chance of being found not guilty.

"Recent cases have shown that the more money a person has, the more favorable the decision will be," said Chetanna I. Okasi'98, vice president of the Black Students Association.

Both undergraduates and law students expressed concern for those members of American society unable to pay the steep legal fees charged by top defense lawyers.

Law student Shannon M. Barrett said that "such a disparity...skews how people look at criminal defense and hurts the people who don't have the money."

Law student Sona Rewari said she has decided not to go into criminal law because she believes that the justice system serves the rich more effectively than the poor.

"Because [legal] representation is a key part of our justice system, there are too many connections to money," she said.

"The values that we attributed to the justice system in our childhood have gotten lost."

Other students said they perceive the existence of racism in the courts.

While noting the difficulty of generalizing about the American justice system as a whole, Okasi said race is a major issue.

"The problem with the justice system is no different than the problems with the other systems that we have," she said.

"That problem is the problem with America, which is racism," she said.

According to Okasi, part of the blame for racial bias in the legal system rests with the press, which, she said, "perpetrates stereotypes of the black male."

According to several students, the media is also partially responsible for the American public's loss of faith in the justice system.

"I think that we're tending to be too cynical as a society and the press isn't helping that much" said Rosanna.