Thomas More, A Man For All Seasons
In the wonderful play by Robert Bolt, A Man for All Seasons, we meet Sir Thomas More, Lord Chancellor in the Court of King Henry VIII. As an attorney and judge, More did much to strengthen the power of the jury by instituting reforms that both made the jury system more fair and strengthened the court in opposition to the growing power of the King. In the play, when the King begins to alter the rule of law to accomodate his divorces and remarriages, More refuses to assent. He loses his position and is eventually arrested and tortured for his refusal to swear an oath in support of King Herny’s actions. He is brought to trial and therein lies the inherent tension of the play (and of More’s life).
Will the rule of law bend to the power of the state or will it uphold the power of the individual. “The intent of the law should be, not to obstruct the apprehension and punishment of the guilty, but to ensure the rights of the innocent, even when the rights slow down the wheels of justice.” (Parsons, Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, pp. 37). The zealotry of that particular era was religious and is expressed by More’s son-in-law William Roper who asserts that in the struggle against the Devil he would “cut down every law in England.” More’s response is a quote that all attorneys should be familiar with and is one of the best defenses for the rule of law in the English language.
Oh! And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned round on you where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country’s planted thick with laws from coast to coast — Man’s law, not God’s — and if you cut them down — and you’re just the man to do it — d’you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I’d give the Devil the benefit of law, for my own safety’s sake.
Thomas More was beheaded following his trial. He was later canonized as a Saint by the Catholic Church and became the patron saint of attorneys. We, as American descendants of the tradition of English common law are the beneficiaries of Thomas More’s sacrifice for the rule of law. In some small way I am hope that I am helping to preserve that thickly planted forest of protections that preserves us from the nightmare of totalitarianism. I believe that it is no less noble to fight as hard as possible in a DUI as it is in a capital murder case, maybe more so because of the ubiquitous nature of DUI enforcement. If you are charged with a DUI in Dayton, Springfield or anywhere in the Miami Valley, please contact Charles M. Rowland II at (937) 318-1DUI or 1-888-ROWLAND or visit www.DaytonDUI.com.
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