Grey Among Black And White Analysis

Law and Bias: An Area of Grey Among Black and White
In an ideal world, justice would be black and white, right or wrong, when in this stark reality it is an immensely grey subject. When someone has broken the law it isn 't just a hop, skip, and jump to jail, but instead it is a complex process which can become a minefield for a lawyer, creating an arena in which the lawyer has to navigate the dangerous terrain in order to gain a positive outcome for his client, or at the very least, a less negative one. How does he navigate or diffuse this minefield? Through the use of rhetorical analysis of the events and judgement of the audience surveying the trial.
In court, first impressions are a big deal despite the courtroom mandate to be neutral in its decisions. Because we are human, …show more content…
In the case of Trayvon Martin, certain information was withheld from discovery by the judge in charge at the time. These records included his school records as well as information about mild use of marijuana by the teen and were considered to be capable of establishing a bias against Martin by painting a picture of Martin as a troubled teen capable of engaging in deliberate violence. The judge reserved the right to allow the introduction of the material if warranted by the direction of the trial. In this case, this information most likely would have resulted in a negative picture being painted by the defendant, Zimmerman, against Martin, damaging Martin’s credibility and negatively influencing the plaintiffs case (ethos). On the opposite side, was the evidence of the phone call Martin was engaged in as he was walking home. He referred to Zimmerman as a cracker with a hint of fear that he (Martin) was being followed. The admission of this information in the court discovery could be construed as establishing an intent to harm Martin by Zimmerman is a form of