St Thomas was a philosopher in the concept of natural law and the role of God’s justice in the legal system. Ethical arguments between lawyers and judges confront on a daily basis is suggested as an occupational profile for the professional conduct of judges and lawyers in their everyday interactions. St Thomas offers procedural comments on the criminal and civil relations as well as sentencing guidelines. In this era in which a Christian lawyer is many times faced with situations that are unethical and the modus operandi is one of questionable choices, the Christian lawyer and judge have an extra layer of complexity in their professional performance. Ethics and morality should be paramount for the Christian legal professional.
Aquinas in the Courtroom challenges many of the current system of law and the beliefs that are inherent in a democratic society that is not based on Christian values. In order to understand the Christian values a professional needs to go back to the roots of the judicial system which is based upon a belief in God and His system of justice. The functions of lawyers, judges, and administrators are to guide the legal system. Lawyers and other scholars need to find solace in the system that is broken in many ways in the idea that there is a way to fix it by applying the principles that they are aware of as Christian values. The gist of this book quotes and describes the philosophy of Thomas Aquinas a learned man of the church. His ideas include justice and punishment in the legal system being handled with the ethical and virtuous allocation of justice. The Thomistic model of jurisprudence to the current criminal justice system includes specific concepts to help the professionals to meter our Christian justice and theirs in their everyday work.
Influences of St Thomas Aquinas
Aquinas for the Courtroom begins with the influences that helped to shape the beliefs of the Aquinas in ethics and morality in the legal profession. The author refers to Aristotle as the influence on Aquinas that helped him to foster the relationship between law and reason. For Thomas Aquinas the rule is in the reason, as the measure of all human activity. Augustine is the contrary belief in that the idea the greater wills the more the direction is to individual the greater is their desire to do well instead of evil. St. Augustine gives the basis for the “lex aeterna” or the idea that all things emanate from God. Aquinas quotes Augustine as Aquinas says” law is written in the hearts of men, which iniquity itself effects not”.
St Augustine helps to bridge the ancient world with the times that he lived in the Middle Ages. Aquinas lived in the late Middle Ages in which the Crusades which was a period of regret of those in legal professional influences. During the period of the Crusades and unrest Aquinas was influenced by Augustine’s ethical and moral platitudes.. This rediscovery of Augustine showed the striking differences that exist between Augustine and Aquinas. Political authority in Aquinas view does not exist only to restrain the vicious and aggressive, but also the positive influence of leading all men to virtue.
The fundamental difference between the two thinkers is in the perspectives on different values that each had on the citizen’s belief in the common good. Aquinas believes the common good of a political society of a part and parcel of the legal justice system. Therefore the political justice and legal justice are on the designs of a good life. Augustine denies the belief that men want a good life and that participation in the civic friendship is the apart of the collective good.
Isidore of Seville is another identified influencer of Aquinas and in this they are similar in their belief that all authority comes from God. The leaders and the citizen are both bound by the law and the needs for laws are for the common good and not for each person’s individual gain. .
The next Chapter continues the discussion of Aquinas’ beliefs in that the law is and how God’s law is eternal. The eternal law is the intellect of the divine exemplar. The use of reason gives man the ability to use their intellect and participate in the eternal law. Reason and not justice, is the law. The law is governed by the way in which the legal professional perceives the law. Aquinas believes that the law is a law because it is based on reason. Law gets its basis from its relationship to the common beliefs of what law is. The common interest is the legitimacy of the law as it is designed to maintain the common good. Laws are for individual to follow but a law for an individual is an effort in futility. Law is only useful as an end to the means of perfection of human to become more like the divine exemplar. Natural law then is a relation to human law and divine law. The relationship is that Divine law is first and most prominent, then natural law and then human law. Each of the lower ends of the hierarchy gets its legitimacy form the higher one.
Conclusion
The speeding laws are not against the moral laws and can be changed as they are for the protection of people and their safety Positive law depends for its legitimacy on compatibility with the natural law. The natural law in turn then reflects the divine or eternal law. The author makes the point that the law based on St. Thomas Aquinas is the “last clear chance for a corrupt and crumbling legal system”. This I find somewhat unrealistic but the author does make the case for his position. The law according to St. Thomas Aquinas respects life all human life. Additionally it recognizes the communal relation of the law and it first and foremost puts God at the center of all law. God is at the highest point and at the center of all of our law. We understand that law is a reflection of God given virtue of treating each person with equal understanding. It helps that the personal spiritual life and the professional life for lawyers is intermixed and that the spiritual beliefs and the way of life.
In the area of lawyers and other legal professionals, some of the author’s beliefs relate to the influence of Aquinas on the judicial process. For example he had great sympathy for the lawyer who is defending someone that he lawyer is duped into believing that the client is innocent. The client dupes the lawyer and the lawyer is not responsible when the jury finds the guilty client innocent. This is not a doing of the lawyer. The license to be a lawyer is not to be the Divine who is infallible. The onus is to do their best for their client. It is unlawful to be complicit in an illegal act. Aquinas says the “It is unlawful to co-operate in an evil deed, by counseling, helping or in any way consenting because to counsel to assist in an action is in a way to do it”.
Another concern the author makes is about the divine law of mercy. Lawyers are known for their propensity to charge large retainers and fees to all and those who pay the most receive the best service. Some say that the decision in a lawsuit is based upon the ability of the client to pay for services. St. Thomas believes that the lawyers have a right to charge that is not the issue. A lawyer is not expected to work pro bono and no man is sufficient to bestow a work of mercy for all those who need it. However the lawyers are to offer some of their services or free for those who truly need the help. Mercy is not boundless but compassion should be a rule that they follow.
All in law the author does not expect the legal system and the professionals in it to solve all the problems of the world. Aquinas has put forth a “legal ideology” with the Code of Judicial Conduct and ethical concerns including those of the American Bar Association are a part of the ideology.
References
Glazer, S. (2012). Toward a model code of judicial conduct for federal administrative law judges. Administrative Law Review, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/286666475_Toward_a_model_code_of_judicial_conduct_for_federal_administrative_law_judges.
Herle, R. (1994 Vol 30()). Principles of Legality: Qualities of Law. Journal of Jurisprudence, http://scholarship.law.nd.edu/ajj/vol39/iss1/4/ Retreived April 2016.
Weithman, P. (1992 Vol 30 (3)). Augustine and Aquinas on Original Sin and the Function of POlitical Authority. JOurnal of the History of Philosophy, https://www3.nd.edu/~pweithma/professional_website/My%20Papers/Augustine%20and%20Aquinas%20on%20Political%20Authority.pdf Retreived April 2016.
