Robert Spicer & Polly Lord consider the current consequences of law
“The law in its majestic impartiality forbids both rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets and steal bread” (Anatole France, Crainqueville ).
“Law” is a word that is easy to spell but difficult to define. While its effects can be seen from shocking newspaper headlines rippling down through to our daily lives, it is hard to know exactly what law is in practice. The description of law is often given through explaining its consequences. If we look at the current consequences of law, however, the picture is not a happy one.
Price
Law has a price. For poor people, legal rights are largely illusory. They have no real application outside academic institutions and law firms which work for employers. A national network of Law Centres, funded by the state, would alleviate this state of affairs by providing poor people with access to free advice and/or representation.
Class
Law depends on class. Class justice functions when justice is done in favour of one
