Rumpole, Blago, and Mencken

The other night was watching a news clip of Governor Rod entering the Courthouse for the final stages of his trial. He had removed his belt for inspection, went twice through the metal detector, and then was wanded as a final precaution. I’ve gone through this process of partial public undressing myself many times, but watching it on TV brought home how degrading a spectacle it is. I thought of John Mortimer’s fictional barrister, Rumpole of the Bailey, who, when he was not quoting Tennyson, would wax poetic about that golden thread of English justice, the presumption of innocence. That golden thread seems to have unraveled in the USA. Apparently people with legitimate court business are presumed to intend mischief until they can prove their belts don’t hide a shank, that their shoes are really footwear, and that there is not a flask of nitro in their shorts. H.L. Mencken had observed that the average man would rather be safe than free. Sadly, it kind of looks that way doesn’t it? I’m wishing the Governor well. After all, you gotta love a lawyer who quotes Tennyson.