Law is an invention of the strong to chain and rule the weak; it preserves inequality; it is the darling of the dictators and the plague of the people; it jails some for petty technical offenses and keeps others out of jail for enormous crimes. Our challenge is not to create checks and balances within existing hierarchies, but to recognize that hierarchies are liabilities in and of themselves. Mumia writes of a self-made intellectual even more obscure than the jailhouse lawyer who represent themselves in court rooms that seem determined to ignore their unorthodox methods of liberation. They face the derision of career lawyers, the contempt of prosecutors, and cool disdain from judges. They’ve learned the coveted secrets of the law society and use them to combat exploitation and injustice. And there is a growing movement characterized by brave individuals whose inspiring words and actions subvert corruption. They affect tangible results for the concepts they draw upon are authentic
