Summary
EQUAL JUSTICE means that in the legal system all people are treated alike, without regard to religion, gender, race, age, or any other attribute or affiliation.
It is often said that justice is “blind,” meaning that it does not judge people based on their unique characteristics. In a system of equal justice, policymakers create laws that treat people equally, police officers enforce the law equally, and courts interpret and apply the law equally in all cases – all without personal, political, or other bias.
The Constitution includes many safeguards that help secure equal justice for all. For example, Amendment V guarantees due process for all citizens and Amendment VI guarantees the right to a speedy, public trial by an impartial jury. This principle is a very simple one; and yet, it is vital to maintaining order and upholding the rule of law.
Quotes from the Brethren
John Taylor–
We get up sometimes a very rash feeling against people who do not think as we do. They have a right to think as they please; and so have we. Therefore, if a man does not believe as I do, that is none of my business. And if I do not believe as he does, that is none of his business. Would you protect a man that did not believe as you do? Yes, to the last bat’s end. He should have equal justice with me; and then I would expect to be protected in my rights. (The Gospel Kingdom, 328–29)
Dallin H. Oaks–
I see divine inspiration in what President J. Reuben Clark called the “great fundamentals” of the Constitution. In his many talks on the Constitution, he always praised three fundamentals: (a) the separation of powers into three independent branches of government in a federal system; (b) the essential freedoms of speech, press, and religion embodied in the Bill of Rights; and (c) the equality of all men before the law. (Dallin H. Oaks, “The Divinely Inspired Constitution,” Ensign, Feb. 1992)
Quotes from the Founders
Thomas Jefferson–
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. . . (The Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776)
Benjamin Franklin–
The ordaining of laws in favor of one part of the nation, to the prejudice and oppression of another, is certainly the most erroneous and mistaken policy. An equal dispensation of protection, rights, privileges, and advantages, is what every part is entitled to, and ought to enjoy. (Franklin, Benjamin Emblematical Representations, Circa, 1774)
John Adams–
[I]t is proper you should understand what I deem the essential principles of our Government…. Equal and exact justice to all men, of whatever persuasion, religious or political…. (Jefferson, Thomas First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1801)
Speeches and Other Resources
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