Can Anyone Be Above the Law? Essay Example

Even though it is argued that no one is above the law, some people use their influence, political power, celebrity, connection, and expertise to walk away with the crime. Following that a few people can use their influence and power to escape the consequences of crime, it is arguable that some people are clearly above the law (Irwin 24). This is due to the fact that they have dormant power which can be used to manipulate the outcome of the judicial or justice process. In this case, the perpetrators can bribe the law enforcement agency, judges, use experienced lawyers to convince the jury to rule in the favor of the criminal or interfere with evidence so as not to be jailed or punished in accordance with the law. This essay, therefore, argues that some people are literally above the law even though the constitution has it that all citizens or people are subject to the directions and guidelines provided by the law.

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It is very common for experts to manipulate their expertise and commit a crime without being noticed or punished. The most common crime performed by expertise mostly is theft, misuse of resources and influencing reliable professional evidence. For instance, physicians or medical practitioners use their expertise and duty as doctors to drain money from Medicaid or medical insurance companies. This happens during the billing process where the cost of medical services offered is hyped to include services which were not provided or lying on the services offered totally with the acceptable ones. For instance, abortion can be replaced with the treatment of other diseases like it happened to Doctor Johnson did (Hoffmann 1049). The further testified before the Senate of having committed the offense but manipulated the information. Despite testifying for having committed the offense of stealing from the Medicaid and providing a misleading information, he still managed to walk away with the crime without being prosecuted. It is therefore arguable that some people can use their profession to commit and walk away with the crime.

Another group of people who walk away with a crime on a daily basis is influential political leaders like presidents. The power given to them as president give them the upper hand to interfere with court processes, proceedings and rulings, interfere with witnesses or use law reinforcement agencies to evade the consequences of crime. For instance, Mobutu Seseko of the Republic of Congo used his power to steal public resources as his own. Due to the power he had, he manipulated his crime using power to an extent of not being prosecuted (Fisher 1134). Till his death, Mobutu Seseko was not prosecuted or punished for misusing public resources. It is the same case with Adolf Hitler who used his power to kill millions of people but still walked away without facing the law. The two examples are proper illustrations that political leaders and influential people are virtually above the law and they can never be touched incases of anything.

Popular culture celebrities have also proved to be relatively above the law. Some celebrities commit a crime like showing children pornographic movies, causing accidents, showing obscene videos among other offenses. Most of them have not faced the severity of the consequences of the crime which they commit. It is not like the cases of less celeb and poor people who find themselves in jail due to some small crimes (Ranker 1). Justin Bieber is a good example who successfully walked away with a crime despite the availability of evidence beyond any reasonable doubt. In 2014, he was arrested for resisting police arrest and drag racing on the road but due to his influence, he had taken a sweet plea that only landed him in anger management classes and provision of some little donations to charity. The following year Bieber got was prosecuted for careless driving and assault in Canada but was only charged $600 instead of being sent to jail or serving serious jail term commensurate to the offense committed. The case of Justin Bieber is a typical case where celeb uses his celebrity and wealth to evade the wrath of the law.

Insanity can also make one walk away with crime making it feel as if they are above the law. Cognitive, inability to think and mental impairment are some of the reasons why one can be excused not to stand prosecution or to answer charges (Ochberg 18). A good example is a Melbourne man who was prosecuted and proved culpable of killing a homeless man in the United States of America. Though the court determined that he was guilty and was supposed not to be acquitted from jail, the mentally challenged defense came to support him arguing that his cognitive and mental ability has a problem and therefore could not have realized that he was committing an offense. The mentally impaired person due to his disability was eventually acquitted and did not face the full force of the law. This is one case where disability attracts more attention to the court to help save a criminal from being poisoned. The case, therefore, makes it feel like mental impairment or disability can make one above the law by giving him some advantages which a normal person do not have.

Having a lot of wealth can also make one above the law. An example is drawn from R. Kelly who openly showed child pornography (Ranker 1). Despite that, the video went viral and most comedians were criticizing it on the live stage and getting enough evidence including identifying the young girl through forensic analysis and witnesses testimonies, nothing much was done to bring Kelly to book. It is fascinating that his influence and wealth came into play by hiring experienced lawyers who argued the case and convinced the Jury that their client was very innocent. Watching the film of 13 or 14-year-old girl which was identified to be way too young for sex did not bear any substantial fruit but rather left the perpetrator to walk scot free without conviction. The case clearly indicates that it is possible for rich people to continue being richer by engaging in unscrupulous activities as the poor being sent to jail.

Conclusion

From the essay, it very clear that some people can have some level of protection against the full force of the law. This protective cover can be as a result of wealth, power, and celebrity of mental impairment. This makes the argument that nobody is above the law to be just a mirage but not the reality on grounds. People who have some level of political power, influence and wealth can successfully walk away with a crime without anybody following them. They are godfathers as such some people are above the law and the rich shall be richer by engaging in serious offenses while the poor get long jail terms for minor offenses.

Works Cited

Fisher, R. "Bringing Law to Bear on Governments." Harvard Law Review (2001): 1130-1140.

Fuller, J. F. C. "The Conduct of War 1789-1961: A Study of the Impact of the French, Industrial and Russian Revolutions on War and Its Conduct." Routledge (2015).

Hoffmann, D. E. "Physicians who break the law." Louis ULJ (2008): 1049.

Irwin, J. The jail: Managing the underclass in American society. Califonia: Univ of California Press, 2013.

Ochberg, F. "Post-traumatic therapy and victims of violence. In Post-traumatic therapy and victims of violence ." Routledge (2013): 17-34.

Ranker. Celebrities Bhaviour. 4 February 2016. <https://www.ranker.com/list/celebrities-who-got-off-easy-for-crimes/vicky-choy>.