On well-being. No magical cure for anxiety

• Author: Jeena Cho
• Pages: 11-12

11

Inter Alia | ON WELL-BEING

Florida in 2008 supervised Epstein’s

notoriously lenient plea deal and later

blamed the decision on a “yearlong

assault on the prosecution and prosecu-

tors” by “an army of legal superstars.”

In contrast, at criminal courts across

the country, poor defendants can’t af-

ford competent counsel; many succumb

to unfavorable plea deals for nan-

cial reasons; and public defenders are

underresourced and overworked. There

is a de facto dual justice system in the

United States—one for the well-off and

one for the poor—and it undermines

our commitment to the rule of law.

Anyone who has a passing familiar-

ity with the U.S. criminal justice system

isn’t shocked to hear the wealthy often

escape punishment or receive lighter

sentences, while the poor—often mi-

norities—are disproportionately incar-

cerated and more harshly sentenced. In

fact, equal justice under the law is one

of the greatest challenges to American

democracy, along with access to justice.

A promise of equality

To be fair, the United States is not by

a long shot the only nation grappling

with justice inequities based on money,

politics, race or religion.

We are, however, a nation that touts

the rule of law as a foundational block

of our democracy, exporting the ideal

to the world while often failing to live

up to it.

Generally dened, the rule of law

provides a restriction on the arbitrary

exercise and abuse of power, subordi-

nate to well-established and equally

applied laws. The World Justice Project

describes the rule of law, in part, as

having “just laws” that are clear, stable

and protect fundamental rights. Justice

should be delivered “by competent,

ethical and independent representa-

tives” who reect the makeup of the

communities they serve. But as the

World Justice Project notes, despite its

profound importance and impact, the

rule of law is difcult to measure and

dene. The key, according to the World

Justice Project, may be to examine soci-

etal outcomes.

We’ve seen what happens when the

rule of law is abandoned or gutted.

When authoritarian regimes dismantle

legal structures, protections disappear,

elections are delegitimized, freedoms are

lost and human rights suffer.

Here, on our own turf, we have

watched decades of unjust sentencing

and draconian criminal laws create a

crisis of mass incarceration unparalleled

in the Western world.

We know that

the rule of law

can be crushed

when countries

like China ta rget

and torture

lawyers and

dissidents. It can

be subtly disman-

tled when nations

like Turkey and

Poland system-

atically erode

an independent

judiciary. Yet in

the U.S., over

multiple admin-

istrations, we’ve

witnessed the

party in power

reorder rules or

stonewall judicial

nominations to

ensure the federal

judiciary reec ts

a certain pol itical

ideology.

The equality promise of this country

has always been aspirational, and over

centuries of tempering, the bedrock of

our justice system remains anchored in

the rule of law. What may set America

apart is constant scrutiny and recalibra-

tion efforts when inequities swing too

far. Right now, strict scrut iny is being

applied to access-to-just ice issues,

immigration pol icies and unjust crim -

inal laws that dest abilize fami lies and

penalize t he poor. This won’t balance

the power and money advantage in one

fell swoop. But advocates and activ-

ists are working to hold the powerf ul

accountable, and continued ag itation

seeking “justice for a ll” is a step in the

right direct ion. Q

ABA JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER–OCTOBER 2019

ON WELL-BEING

No

Magical

Cure for

Anxiety

But with persistence,

you can train your mind to relax

BY JEENA CHO

Lawyers often ask me for the

secret to experiencing less

anxiety and stress. I wish there

was an easy x for breaking

the habit of constant anxiety and worry,

but there is no magical cure. Chances

are, your mind has had the practice

of being in an anxious state for many

years (or decades). It’s going to take

time and persistence to break your

mind of this habit. The good news is

that your mind can be trained!

There are three strategies and les-

sons that I found invaluable in work-

ing with anxiety.

Anxiet y is subjective. An xiety is

the subjectively unpleasant fe eling of

dread or worry about some futu re

event. Often, when working w ith

anxiety, we focus on t he event—the

upcoming heari ng, waiting for the

judge’s order, waiting for a call from

opposing counsel, waiti ng for the test

results from the doc tor, etc. We blame

the event for the anxious fe elings.

However, focusing on the event only

exacerbates the anx iety because t he

mind is hardwire d toward imaginin g

Photo courtesy of JC Law Group

Despite the

rule of law in

this country,

it’s axiomatic

that money

can often

buy freedom.

Money can buy

good lawyers,

investigators

and resources

needed to

mount a

vigorous

defense.