I. INTRODUCTION The criminal justice system is theoretically meant to seek justice for those harmed by the crimes of others. Today, however, the system serves a greater purpose than the people: the state. Our legal system is fundamentally designed to serve you. The system assumes that the state knows best, a paternalistic mindset that, coupled with an unwarranted focus on perceived harm to the state, dangerously diminishes the role of the victim in their own justice process. Whereas police and prosecutors possess too much power, victims of sexual assault have limited, if any, power in this system. This is especially true for individuals systematically disadvantaged by their background characteristics, like women and people of color. Women and minorities may choose not to pursue legal …show more content…
Objectification The final theme White identified, objectification, explores the way Mrs. G’s story was fundamentally shaped by the near-formulaic standardization of a lawyer-centric criminal justice system. White describes how Mrs. G’s lawyer taught her to tailor her story to fit the narrative the legal system upheld. Mrs. G had two options: an “estoppel” argument that would place the blame squarely on welfare officials who gave her incorrect advice, or an argument under the “life necessities” exception, which would allow her to keep the funds if she could show that the funds were used to “avert a crisis situation.” The system had its hand even in determining which argument to make—Mrs. G’s lawyer decided that the life necessities argument was more likely to succeed because it placed Mrs. G in a subordinate and pitiable position, a single mother struggling to make ends meet, and the picture-perfect portrayal of a stereotypical welfare recipient. Characterizing Mrs. G in a manner that mirrors society’s image of a stereotypical welfare recipient may have been necessary to fit the rigid legal criteria needed to win. However, that portrayal perhaps comes at the expense of Mrs. G’s