The legal system is not fair in our country.
Journalist Matt Taibbi concedes that it was probably never even close to being fair, but there was at least an illusion of it.
In his new book, «The Divide», a painstakingly researched exposé of the widening gap between the rich and everybody else, Taibbi argues that common city courts have become «factories for turning poor people into prisoners,» while federal prosecutors «quietly dispose of the sins of the rich for a fee.»
The effectiveness of his argument lies in the fact that he prefers neither system over the other. His drive to document the injustices of the wealth gap comes from his disgust of the juxtaposition of the two systems: devastating collateral consequences for the low-level crimes of the poor and no-jail settlements for any of the «systemic crimes that wiped out 40 percent of the world’s wealth.»
Formerly of «Rolling Stone» magazine, Taibbi is known for his candid remarks about the failures of our financial regulatory system and his criticism of conservative politicians. Rather than stick to the dry financial and legal information of the events following the recent financial crisis, he often inserts colorful commentary to improve the narrative of his latest book.
When detailing the ineffectiveness of Lanny Breuer, the head of the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice, he quotes a congressional aide as saying, «this is a corporate flack, who was such a zero, you had twenty-five-year-olds in Congress who wouldn’t return his phone calls.»
In an effort to explain the inherent racism in the American justice system, he points out that sometimes, «we find white people on the jail end and black people on the speeding ticket end, but for the most part … well, for the most part, you know what I mean.»
The most poignant remarks of the book come from his analysis of the conventional wisdom surrounding the prosecution of massive corporate cases. Taibbi struggles to find the public utility in the settlements that have characterized the post-crisis justice system: «very high fines, limited (or no) admission of responsibility and no criminal charges against individuals.»
He gives a voice to the millions of Americans that have suffered as a result of the unabashedly immoral and irresponsible decisions of executives on Wall Street. Taibbi searches for an answer to the question that has dumbfounded every objective observer of our current situation. How can it be that firms are forced to pay record fines for their involvement in the financial crash, and prosecutors are not capable of getting any individual to spend a single day in a jail cell?
According to Taibbi, the answer lies in the doctrine of collateral consequences. Following the $1.5 billion fine given to the Swiss banking firm UBS for its part in a worldwide price-fixing scandal known as the LIBOR affair, Breuer stood before a group of increasingly frustrated journalists and publicly defined this new doctrine.
When pressed about why prosecutors were not tougher on UBS, he explained that, «in deciding how you’re going to pursue an institution, you have to at least evaluate whether or not innocent people might lose jobs or there might be some sort of collateral event.» Nobody from UBS went to jail, and the firm did not even have to admit any wrongdoing, despite written evidence that UBS officers offered bribes to rig rates.
As Taibbi points out, no cop in a poor neighborhood thinks of the collateral consequences of arresting a young man for a simple drug charge. And no Immigration and Customs Enforcement official considers the impact that the forced deportation of an undocumented immigrant mother could have on her American-born children.
In order to expose some of the most pressing issues that plague our nation, Taibbi crisscrossed the nation searching for a diverse group of people that suffered from the repercussions of our burgeoning wealth gap. Along with his typical uncanny ability to clearly explain complex financial situations, readers will be pleased to find that he has the willingness to delve deep into stories of injustice that are often forgotten by the mainstream media.
«The Divide» will leave you looking at our justice system in a new light. While Taibbi presents an infuriating and inescapable portrait of our widening divisions, his appeal lies in his capacity to provide a narrative that dignifies the downtrodden citizens of our nation.
Sam Henninger is a rising sophomore in economics. He can be reached at shenning@vols.utk.edu.
