“Don’t Judge, And You Won’t Be Judged”

You can take the vampire out of the autocrat, but you can’t take the autocrat out of the vampire. pic.twitter.com/UZDlS5NxUp

— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) March 16, 2024

As lawyers we have drummed into us the ethical need to avoid not only impropriety, but the "appearance" of impropriety. I have long had some vague sense that there's a problem with that. 

As it happens, when going through books I was thinking of selling a week or so ago, I was looking "The Mill on the Floss" and found the following, which expresses my qualms beautifully. The protagonist, Maggie Tulliver, though innocent, has been compromised by a young man, and has a ruined reputation in her home village. The local rector, Dr. Kenn, believes her innocent, and, to convince his parish, he engages her to tutor his children. But.... 

"Dr Kenn, at first enlightened only by a few hints as to the new turn which gossip and slander had taken in relation to Maggie, had recently been made more fully aware of it by an earnest remonstrance from one of his male parishioners against the indiscretion of persisting in the attempt to overcome the prevalent feeling in the parish by a course of resistance. Dr Kenn, having a conscience void of offence in the matter, was still inclined to persevere,—was still averse to give way before a public sentiment that was odious and contemptible; but he was finally wrought upon by the consideration of the peculiar responsibility attached to his office, of avoiding the appearance of evil,—an “appearance” that is always dependent on the average quality of surrounding minds. Where these minds are low and gross, the area of that “appearance” is proportionately widened. Perhaps he was in danger of acting from obstinacy; perhaps it was his duty to succumb. Conscientious people are apt to see their duty in that which is the most painful course; and to recede was always painful to Dr Kenn. He made up his mind that he must advise Maggie to go away from St Ogg’s for a time; and he performed that difficult task with as much delicacy as he could, only stating in vague terms that he found his attempt to countenance her stay was a source of discord between himself and his parishioners, that was likely to obstruct his usefulness as a clergyman. He begged her to allow him to write to a clerical friend of his, who might possibly take her into his own family as governess; and, if not, would probably know of some other available position for a young woman in whose welfare Dr Kenn felt a strong interest. 

"Poor Maggie listened with a trembling lip; she could say nothing but a faint “Thank you, I shall be grateful”; and she walked back to her lodgings, through the driving rain, with a new sense of desolation."

"Appearance" is all about who’s looking. And “ethics” is all about who’s judging.

I learned that in parish ministry when my congregations turned against me, and the hierarchy above wondered what I did to deserve it. It wasn’t that I was blameless, but they were all sure there was no one else to blame.

Ethics as an ideal, and ethics as a reality. And someone has to judge, else what’s an ethics for?

Getting back to the tweet at the head: rule of law means the rules MAGA likes. Complaints about conduct of Fani Willis from those who think Trump guilty fall rather flat when you consider MAGA will consider anything short of dismissal of charges (this all started as a motion to dismiss), or total exoneration, as the denial of justice and a “witch hunt.” Not that it’ll make a groat’s worth of difference. A conviction will be a conviction.