Justice for Sale

In last week's edition of The New Yorker, Rachel Aviv told the story of Sam Kellner, a jew living in Brooklyn's Hasidic neighborhood, Borough Park. The article was entitled, "The Outcast", which became an fitting descriptor of Kellner soon after he decided to take legal action against Baruch Lebovits, the man who molested his son. After he was condemned to a thirty-two year jail sentence for eight counts of sexual abuse (for several victims), the Lebovits family, a wealthy and revered rabbinic dynasty, decided to do everything in their power to get Baruch out of prison, and Kellner in prison for extortion. As a result, in the words of a Hasidic business man (who chose to remain anonymous), "Kellner [became] the prime example of 'how devastated you will be if you go against the rabbis'" (Aviv). Kelllner also experienced first hand the advantages that a more powerful individual has in America's supposedly equal justice system. 

The power of the Lebovitz family allowed them to overwhelm Kellner in court with their ability to acquire evidence and manipulate witnesses. The family hired private investigators and worked with law enforcement to find evidence against Kellner; they bugged his car, wired conversations, interrogated witnesses, and negotiated with other victims of Baruch. They had every advantage. Eventually, "Lebovits was released, after thirteen months in prison" (of his 32 year sentence) and "[Kellner] was handcuffed and escorted to Kings County Supreme Court". Kellner never spent more than two days in jail, and has not yet been convicted of any alleged extortion crimes. However, Lebovits never received the punished he deserved either.

By allowing this outcome, the justice system failed to provide Kellner with equal protection before the law. The abruptness with which the wealthier, more influential man, Lebovits was able to turn the tables on Kellner caused him to say, "'The D.A. turned against me. And no one stood up for me. . . Basically, the D.A. destroyed me.'"