Legal But Unfair: Why some people go to jail and others don’t

Criminal defendants expect the legal system to deliver fairness. Our courts are designed to deliver legal compliance with the laws of the State of North Carolina, our state constitution, and the US Constitution, not necessarily fair results or what some facing criminal charges might believe is just or true “justice.”

A prosecutor can legally offer a favorable plea to one defendant while demanding jail time for another charged with a very similar offense. Absent obvious discrimination based on protected characteristics or clear constitutional violations, prosecutorial discretion is substantial.

Judges can sentence different defendants to vastly different outcomes based on judicial and sentencing philosophy, the timing of the case, or simply how the Court (the Judge) interprets the factual recitation. They, too, possess substantial discretion in entering a judgment and sentencing someone to jail or prison.

All of these disparities can occur within full constitutional compliance while producing outcomes that may seem arbitrary or unfair to defendants and their families. That’s understandable.

This disconnect between legal procedure and perceived justice is substantial for a host of reasons.

Clients arrive expecting the scales of justice to provide equity. Some people caught up in the criminal justice system think they know the law, or they “had a friend who.” People facing criminal charges sometimes conflate what the law actually is with what they think “it should be.”

Unfortunately, it may come as a surprise when they encounter a system designed around constitutional compliance rather than big-picture overall fairness or equitable results.

In fact, criminal defense lawyers spend a considerable amount of time explaining the realities of the system and modulating and/or managing expectations from the outset. Our daily lives involve dealing with a justice system that can sometimes be fair and reasonable, and at other times, not so much.

If you’re facing impaired driving charges in the Charlotte metro area, including Mecklenburg, Union, Iredell, Gaston, Lincoln, and Rowan Counties, the Powers Law Firm PA may be available for legal representation. For felony cases involving serious injury, death, or vehicular homicide, we evaluate statewide representation on a case-by-case basis. Call now 704-342-4357 to schedule a confidential consultation that is free of charge.

100% Legal but Still Unfair

Two defendants face identical drug possession charges for similar amounts of marijuana. Both people facing criminal charges have clean records, and both sets of allegations stem from routine traffic stops.

One defendant’s case gets handled in a county with policies that may favor diversion or alternative sentencing for first-time offenders. Another defendant with the same charge faces prosecution in a county with different priorities and approaches.

The difference isn’t the facts or the law. It may be due to prosecutorial discretion, varying by jurisdiction. There are reasons for that.

For example, one county may be flooded with methamphetamines and regularly deal with drug-related fatality after fatality. As a safety and public policy concern, methamphetamines may be the scourge of a community.

Another judicial district may never see “meth” charges in court and think nothing of offer a plea bargain involving a deferral, deferred prosecution, or other 90-96 or conditional discharge option to a defendant.

What does the Presumption of Innocence Mean? 

Both approaches are legally permissible, but outcomes can differ dramatically based on where the arrest occurred.

Indeed, the discretion to treat similar cases differently isn’t a system flaw.

It’s a feature and can, in fact, be a true asset to the community.

Prosecutors must weigh caseload management, office policy, public safety messaging, and the specific facts of each individual case.

Perfect consistency would require removing human judgment entirely.

The law doesn’t require identical outcomes for identical charges.

It does require due process, equal protection under law, and adherence to constitutional standards.

 

Here’s a hard truth about justice that is also 100% legal:

A prosecutor can legally despise a defendant’s attitude and propensity to commit crime after crime, recommending and seeking the harshest possible sentence.

An Assistant District Attorney is not required to like you.

They may flat out wish you ill and think of no better place than prison for you.

Right to a Fair Trial?

Prosecutors may target certain offenders they believe regularly cause problems in the community, serve as a drain on law enforcement resources, or seek long prison terms for habitual offenders and those defendants who just commit a lot of crimes.

DAs in North Carolina can also legally offer generous plea deals to defendants they find sympathetic, who admitted responsibility early on, who cooperated with the investigation, or who have shown the proper level of remorse.

In fact, under the NC felony sentencing laws, some are statutorily recognized mitigating factors.

Absent proof of discrimination based on protected characteristics or clear constitutional violations, such decisions are hard to attack and otherwise stand in North Carolina.

That isn’t prosecutorial misconduct.

It’s prosecutorial discretion operating within legal bounds while producing outcomes that can feel arbitrary to defendants and their families, based on what they internalize and deem fair, just, and proper under the law.

Why Legal Standards Don’t Guarantee Fair Results

The criminal justice system prioritizes predictable procedure over equitable outcomes. This design choice reflects centuries of legal evolution favoring consistent rules over subjective fairness.

Due process means you get proper notice of charges, legal representation when deemed necessary and appropriate under the law, and procedural safeguards.

The Rule of Law doesn’t mean you get the same plea offer as the defendant across the hall in the jail.

How much does a lawyer cost?

Equal protection ensures laws apply equally regardless of race, religion, or other protected characteristics.

It doesn’t guarantee that prosecutors like you will view your case sympathetically.

Evidence rules protect against unreliable testimony and illegal searches. They don’t prevent a prosecutor from building the strongest possible case against someone they believe deserves punishment.

Constitutional protections create floors, not ceilings, for how defendants can be treated.

The gap between legal compliance and perceived fairness widens when defendants compare their outcomes to others.

But the system isn’t designed for such comparisons.

Each case exists within its own procedural universe, often subject to the discretion of the specific prosecutor, judge, and circumstances at that moment.

This creates an uncomfortable truth.

You can receive harsh treatment that feels personally targeted and unfair while remaining within the system’s legal parameters.

The remedy isn’t to demand fairness.

As such, it’s important for defendants facing criminal charges to understand how discretion actually operates and work within those realities.

The Cost of Misplaced Expectations in our legal system

Defendants who enter the system expecting moral accounting leave disappointed and often angry.

Sometimes, misplaced frustration stems from a fundamental misunderstanding of what criminal defense lawyers can and cannot control.

• Defense attorneys cannot make prosecutors like our clients
• Defense lawyers cannot guarantee that similar cases will receive similar treatment
• Criminal lawyers cannot transform a system designed around legal compliance into one that delivers subjective fairness.

What we can do is navigate the system as it exists, not as clients wish it operated.

Effective criminal defense requires clients to abandon the fiction that good people automatically receive good outcomes.

Character matters in sentencing, but procedural realities matter more.

Do they have to read you Miranda Rights?

A respectful defendant with community ties might still face harsh treatment if their case arrives during a political or media moment calling for tough prosecution.

Judges and prosecutors who made every decision based on personal sympathy would create a system far more arbitrary than the current one.

Understanding this distinction allows criminal defendants to make informed decisions about plea offers, trial strategy, and expectations.

It also redirects energy from fighting the system’s fundamental design toward working effectively within its actual constraints.

When the justice system seems unfair: Have an experienced defense lawyer on your side

Criminal defense exists in the space between legal procedure and human expectation.

This reality is neither cynical nor defeatist. It’s practical.

At the Powers Law Firm PA, we help people understand the process, weigh their options, and make decisions grounded in truth, not false promises.

If you’re ready to talk, we’re ready to listen.

Clients who understand how prosecutorial discretion actually operates make better decisions about their cases.

The key is to focus on achievable goals rather than impossible standards of cosmic justice.

The criminal justice system doesn’t promise fairness. It promises process.

Understanding that distinction is the first step toward realistic expectations and effective advocacy.

If you’re facing DWI/DUI “drunk driving” charges in the Charlotte metro area, including Mecklenburg, Union, Iredell, Gaston, Lincoln, and Rowan Counties, Powers Law Firm PA provides experienced representation grounded in realistic assessment of how the system actually works. For felony cases involving serious injury, felony death by vehicle, or vehicular homicide, we evaluate statewide representation case by case. Call 704-342-4357 for a confidential consultation.