Pro Bono

Matsumoto Seichō

2 ideas

1. Lawyer's refused fee dooms innocent brother

   A young woman travels from Kyushu to Tokyo to ask a celebrated defense lawyer to take her brother's case. The lawyer turns her away because she cannot pay his fee; the brother is convicted and dies in custody, and the sister then methodically destroys the lawyer's career and reputation.

2. Justice is rationed by class and money

   The legal system presents itself as neutral, but access to competent defense depends on ability to pay, so the poor are convicted on circumstantial evidence the rich could contest. The lawyer breaks no rule by refusing the case, which is why his refusal is the indictment: the injustice happens entirely inside what the profession permits.

Save and mark ideas in the app