Q&A: A Reasonable Court Ruling from Improper Motives
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
A Reasonable Court Ruling from Improper Motives
Question
Hello Rabbi,
A thought that came up:
Is there any flaw in a court ruling that was formed out of improper motives but contains valid logical reasoning?
That is, suppose a judge is presented with the case of person X, and the judge was bribed and decided in advance to rule against him. Even so, the ruling he gave presents a valid and reasonable analysis in light of the law, the case law, and the circumstances of the matter.
Can it be said that justice was done in X’s case?
Answer
Justice was done, but taking the bribe is an offense. If the ruling is proper, then what is the problem with the justice? Justice is a question of the outcome.