By the letter of the law
EVERY one of us struggles with a legal issue. Strictly, the letter of the law is frequently used to refer to the exact force of the language in a statute or some source of law.
And that issue can too often influence the type of law we can resort to: criminal law to address crimes against us; civil laws to deal with private injuries; and transnational laws to deal with matters that arise beyond our borders.
When a debt strikes or a thief unlawfully enters our premises and leads us to police stations, lengthy hours instructing our lawyers, and rigorous trial processes, our perceptions of the law may leave us frustrated. Thankfully, the perceptions remain the middle line between what we know and what we don’t know about the law.
When I read about “rules for swimming” as a young boy (rules crafted by our brothers in the village), I discovered how deep my ignorance of the law was. Essentially, even many of my viewpoints as a trained lawyer may easily sound strange to another lawyer. It’s normal.
At all material times, the processing of legal viewpoints must never be done in piecemeal fashion. Respecting the letter of the law usually costs nothing. Equally, following procedures in a particular legal discipline almost costs you everything. No wonder even the lawyer has to practise law every day. Lawyers often say they don’t know the whole of the law but they know where to find it.
At the rural river, young boys like me would be made to play in the shallows. We felt very safe but when the confidence in the waters grew, our brothers would strike and teach us vital lessons.
Before realising it, we would be in the deep end, guzzling tonnes of water and praying for life.
If mercy or to be precise, sympathy abounded, our brothers would come to rescue us, make us lie by the riverside, spank our stomachs with huge granules of sand until life was restored to us. In a few weeks’ time, human instincts would force us into some “role-reversal games”.
We would laugh our hearts out when others would shout for help. We were innocent though, and believe you me, the rules are still extant today. You may not be shown the letter of the law.
Every time in life, people are brow-beaten by the gobbledygook and various disciplines in the legal field (I am no fan for such practices). There is, however, a good reason for maintaining the legal disciplines though: each discipline has its own substantive and procedural aspects.
Further, lawyers usually want to get proper instructions from their clients. Your good facts enable your lawyer to apply the legal principles relating to your case. She can sniff out the nub of the case in split of a second. Metaphorically, you perhaps heard that, “good lawyers know the law, but great lawyers know the judge”. Only sleazy lawyers ignore this fact, but only at their own peril.
The metaphor doesn’t discourage lawyers from furthering their legal studies or from reading extensively. Similarly, it doesn’t mean that lawyers must use corrupt means to get to the trier of facts, the judge or magistrate or the court.
It is simply used to show that the lawyer must know the type of the judge (political, conservative, liberal or activist); the court rules applicable in a matter; and the manner in which certain cases can be referred to a motion court or for determination using a chamber application.
Sometimes the letter of the law is not reduced to writing. You may be asked by a particular judge to dress properly in a particular court. You may occasionally be referred to a certain judicial decision if you feel the judge is vindictive.
A witness’ lawyer may be chastised for failing to advise the witness to put on a tie or to properly address the court. Decorum is part of the letter.
Every good lawyer avoids creating dubious reputations. She doesn’t want to court unnecessary criticism from the bench or court.
She doesn’t want to be hauled before the lawyers’ disciplinary tribunal. She tries her best to respect the client-attorney privilege. Occasionally you see her writing a “without prejudice” letter to another lawyer. The lawyer is simply saying the rights or privileges of the parties involved are not lost or waived.
Although this is not a detailed article on legal anecdotes, the letter of the law may be crucial in the determination of whether someone has “made a case against another”, or “has a case to answer”. For instance, when litigant “A” makes a case against litigant “B”, we say “A” has the background against which to sue “B”. Both litigants may possess the paraphernalia to make or destroy a particular case.
If “B” feels like he can’t wade in the legal shallows for very long, he uses the letter of the law to persuade the court to dismiss, strike off or remove A’s case from the roll of, say, urgent applications.
The allusion to the letter of the law is interesting, since the interpretation of the letter characterises the pursuit of justice using strict textual analysis. Strictly, textual interpretations may at times be abandoned when the letter of the spirit is compared to the purpose and the spirit of the law.
When that is done, a court can then adopt other forms of interpreting statutes such as the purposive rule of interpretation or may interpret a statute such as a constitution in holistic fashion depending on the spirit of the constitution, an extraordinary statute.
I hope you’re not scared by the law anymore.
Just like we used to laugh out our troubles by the riverside in the village, knowledge about the law causes you to be frightened a little, the way we always do just before a big stage event. Here’s the good thing about the law. For divine lawyers, readers of 1 Timothy 1:8 know how the biblical source of law affirms that “now we know that the law is good, if one uses it legitimately”. For those who use State law, whether civil or criminal, it always equips its subjects not to “take the law into their own hands”. Sharon Hofisi is a lawyer and UZ lecturer. Feedback: sharonhofii@gmail.com <mailto:sharonhofii@gmail.com>.