the law is an ass

English

Alternative forms

• the law is a ass

Proverb

the law is an ass

1. The law, as created by legislators or as administered by the justice system, cannot be relied upon to be sensible or fair.
   • 1654, attributed to George Chapman but probably Henry Glapthorne, Revenge for Honour:

     Ere he shall lose an eye for such a trifle... For doing deeds of nature! I'm ashamed. The law is such an ass.

   • 1838, Charles Dickens, chapter 61, in Oliver Twist:

     "If the law supposes that," said Mr. Bumble, squeezing his hat emphatically in both hands, "the law is a ass—a idiot."

   • 1917, Henry De Vere Stacpoole, chapter 29, in The Man Who Lost Himself:

     I'm not one of those who think the Law is an ass, no, there's a great deal of common sense in the Law of England.

   • 1994 May 14, James Cusick, “Loophole gives knifeman freedom”, in The Independent, UK, retrieved 18 July 2014:

     Mr Bell said: "The law is an ass. It is a shocking situation when a dangerous criminal can walk free by evading recapture for a month."

   • 2013 July 16, Kathleen Parker, “Unanswered questions in Trayvon Martin case”, in Washington Post, retrieved 18 July 2014:

     [N]o matter the legal definitions that guided them, it seems impossible that someone’s young son, guilty of nothing, should die while his killer walks. Adages become such for a reason: The law is an ass.

Translations

law cannot be trusted to be sensible or fair

• Russian: зако́н — что ды́шло: куда́ повернёшь, туда́ и вы́шло (zakón — što dýšlo: kudá povernjóšʹ, tudá i výšlo) (law is like a shaft of the cart^ goes wherever you turn it), в суде́ пра́вды нет (v sudé právdy net) (there's no truth in the court of law)