Legal Ethics and Fugitive Slaves: The Anthony Burns Case, Judge Loring, and Abolitionist Attorneys

Judges and lawyers seek to enforce and uphold the "law" while also proclaiming an interest in an abstraction we call "justice." As we know, there is often a tension between the two. Consequently, serving the law often means not serving justice. Similarly, often a tension exists between a lawyer's duty both to seek a legal remedy to a problem and to act in the best interests of a client. Activist lawyers can have an agenda that is at odds with members of the class they claim to serve.

These two problems are complicated by a third. Lawyers and judges have a faith in the system itself that is not always shared by their clients. The "voice" of the client is often drowned out by the rules of law, the procedures of courts, and the knowing reassurance of a lawyer that the system will, in the end, help the client.