Crossing a line we took for granted

Shannon Bohrer

(3/2025) "He who saves his country, violates no law," attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte. Shouldn’t saving a country by breaking a law, be dependent upon which laws are broken?

We are standing at a crossroads that many, including myself, never thought possible. I always believed that most citizens understood the relationship between maintaining our democracy and the rule of law. Honoring the truth, speaking the truth, and supporting the principle that no one is above the law were, I believed, universally understood. Sadly, those beliefs are in decline and apparently have been for some time. When the rule of law is questioned, democracy itself is questioned.

Citizens now see a convicted felon in the Oval Office as validation that our judicial system is broken. They saw the evidence of his numerous crimes, but they also witnessed Judge(s) and others who allowed delays, resulting in a lack of timely prosecutions.

The lack of trust was reinforced when the U.S. Supreme Court decided that the former president was immune from prosecution for official acts. The ruling refutes the long-standing principle that no one is above the law. Virtually every judicial expert who commented had predicted that the Supreme Court would affirm the lower court’s decision that the president did not have immunity. That ruling and others have affected the faith and confidence the citizens have in the Supreme Court, thus, our judicial system and our government.

The confidence in our democracy and judicial system has been questioned for many years. Many of our political leaders have added to that mistrust, telling us we should not trust our government. Many of those politicians are in office today. Adding to the mistrust, we are constantly inundated with false information. It was reported on several media sites that the previous congress destroyed all the official records of the January 6th insurrection as if they had something to hide. The inference is that the congressional investigation committee misled the public. The facts do not support that belief, with the opposite being true. The Congress released an eight-hundred-page report on the insurrection to prevent future elected leaders from making false statements. Of course, they still make them; sadly, they are still believed.

The distrust of our government and the judicial system is compounded when we include the underprivileged and minorities. A significant segment of our population questions the idea of equitable justice. Many see and believe there are at least two judicial systems, one for the wealthy and connected and another for the indigent. The two systems existed before Trump, giving many who may have believed in the system - to question what they believed.

People in less equal societies are less likely to trust science, their government, and each other. Our society elected a president who is a convicted felon, a convicted sex offender who promised and then pardoned persons who participated in an insurrection and assaulted police officers. It could be said that the voters demonstrated a lack of trust when they voted.

As a former police officer and knowing what the current president promised, to pardon over 1500 individuals who participated in an insurrection, the pardons were expected. What was unexpected was the lack of condemnation by many so-called leaders. Losing the rule of law is a step in the direction of fascism, where those in power use their power to silence any opposition. Contrary to what is being said, the freedom to critique or oppose a person or an idea is under attack, which is a loss of freedom. Many believe the current administration is creating a road to authoritarianism.

Can our government instill changes that give citizens faith in the rule of law? Police reforms have existed for some time, but many question the efficacy of the various programs. Yet, most people believe that police are essential and do good work. With over one million police officers, even a tiny minority can grab the headlines with poor and even criminal behavior. I believe most individuals working in the criminal justice community, including the police, prosecutors, and judges, are honest and do excellent work.

Another critical issue that supports a lack of faith in the criminal justice system is false convictions and incarcerations. In July 2024, it was reported by the Witness to Innocence group that "200 prisoners in the U. S. have been exonerated and freed from death row since 1973." The National Registry of Exonerations has documented "3,659 exonerations since 1989." The number of incarcerated individuals later found to be innocent is shameful and questions the fairness of our criminal justice system. Are there other falsely convicted that are unknown?

Adding to the issue of justice is that many individuals who do excellent work are currently facing dismissals. Our president wants to fire any FBI Agents that investigated the January 6th insurrection. Over eighty percent of the individuals charged in connection with the insurrection pleaded guilty. Doing your job, correctly, and questioning those in power is now considered grounds for dismissal. Viewing people that disagree with you as the enemy is common with authoritarians.

At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice, he is the worst. - Aristotle

For the public to trust in the judicial system, individuals who have authority and abuse that authority need to be held accountable. When one has authority, there must be consequences when the authority is abused. Today, individuals at the highest levels abuse authority with little or no consequences.

When President Trump was elected in 2016, it was known that he disparaged John McCain, belittled, and mocked a Gold Star family, and bragged about molesting women. The lack of trust in our government, including our judicial system, is not new, it existed before Trump.

We have crossed a line that most of us took for granted. I always believed that the criminal justice system, even with its flaws, was moving in the right direction. The country was founded on the premise that we are all equal under the law. As Thomas Paine said," …in America the law is King. For as in absolute governments the King is law, so in free countries the law ought to be King…"

If the President continues to reshape the government where the executive office has absolute power over the judicial and legislative branches, will he be a king?

"He who saves his Country does not violate any Law." - President Trump