Troy Roush on Cost of Justice
on Thursday, June 26, 2014Troy Roush, A farmer from the film Food, Inc.
“The way the system appeared to work to me was lady justice had the scales and you piled cash on the scales and the one who piled the most cash on the scales … that was the winner” — Troy Roush
In this quote, Troy Roush seems to be criticizing the influence of money on the justice system. He portrays Lady Justice, who represents fair and impartial justice, as having scales to weigh competing arguments.
However, Roush suggests the scales are actually weighed down not by the merits of a case, but by “piling cash” onto them. This implies Roush believes in practice, legal outcomes are often determined not by what is right or just, but rather by which “side piled the most cash” through financial lobbying or donations.
The quote conveys Roush’s skeptical perspective that money frequently overrides fairness within the system, and that the party who spends the most is often the “winner” regardless of the facts or righteousness of their position. He appears to believe wealth plays a disproportionate and corrupting role in legal proceedings and policymaking.