Law: The Good, the Bad, and the UglyLaw and the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly by John Bandler. Article at JohnBandler.com and video on YouTube.

by John Bandler

We need to understand three important aspects of law: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

Law is not just for lawyers, law is for everyone, it has to be, in a democracy that is a nation of laws.

But people need to understand these three parts of law so they can strive to achieve the good, and work against the ugly.

Let's summarize all three here:Law and the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly by John Bandler. Article at JohnBandler.com and video on YouTube.

  • The Good: The theory of law is good and beautiful, including the principle that we should have fair rules, enforced fairly, with a fair process to resolve disputes peacefully.
  • The Bad: In practice, it's a system of people, it's going to be imperfect and messy, and even reasonable people can disagree. It can get nasty. A lot of law and our legal system is simply people and lawyers trying the win. It's much better than physical violence and threats, and we are going to have lots of disagreements about it.
  • The Ugly: Our system of law and government is only as strong as the good and ethical people willing to defend it. Unethical people and lawyers, corruption, excessive wealth and power, and other influences can damage and corrupt it. This affects the laws that are passed, how laws are enforced, and more.

Now let's dive deeper.

1. The Good

The theory of law is good and beautiful. It is based upon these principles:

  • Justice
  • Fairness
  • Process
  • Fact finding
  • Truth.

It is about rules that apply to everyone, even to powerful people and rich people. No person is above the law, rules are created and enforced fairly. There is a process to resolve disputes peacefully and fairly.

It is a system of law based on rules and process, fairness, facts and truth, not based on power, money, political influence, donations, bribes, or corruption. Not based upon “might makes right”

2. The Bad ("less good")

Here's the bad part about law, except it's not quite accurate to call it "bad".

Let's call it "less good", or the messy imperfections and reality of any solid system of law and government.

Life, humans, and law are all messy and will always be imperfect. It's is mistake to think that just because it is imperfect, it is a bad system.

Even reasonable people will disagree on a matter of policy or law, and on specific cases. This reasonable disagreement gets heated and messy.

Further, a lot of the practice of law is simply about winning. That means lots of persuasion and spin (but should devolve into “manipulation”).

Lawyers are paid by each side to try win (except government attorneys, whose duty is more to justice itself).

Some sides spend a lot of money and time to win, and the wealthy and powerful often get a better result in a litigation, can influence what the laws are, and can influence how the laws are enforced. Even when lawyers (and their clients) act within the bounds of ethics and law.

But lawyers and their clients do not always act within the bounds of ethics and law, and that's where it gets ugly.

3. The Ugly

We need to recognize the ugly parts of law and government, because if it is ignored, we allow bad things to happen to it.

Law can be manipulated, misused, corrupted. People (including lawyers) can be unethical and break the law.

Our nation of laws and system of law can be damaged and even corrupted. There is not destiny or magic hand that keeps us on the path. It takes good people committed to promoting the good aspects of law to keep the ugly away.

There can be undue influence, corruption, and manipulation of the system at large.

This can include appointing judges and prosecutors to get specific results, prosecuting political opponents, silencing critics, and influencing or even manipulating how citizens think and vote.

4. Find the right balance, see all three, work for the goodFind the right perspective about law, recognize the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. See article and video by John Bandler on “Law and the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly “

Don't limit your perspective by accepting either of the extremes which are false views.

Avoid the view that the law is "all wonderful" and "all good" and avoid having excessive deference to lawyers and judges just because of their position.

Also avoid the view that all of law is all terrible and "ugly", and don't have excessive contempt and disregard for lawyers and judges.

Instead, recognize all three exist together; the good, the bad, and the ugly.

We need to work for the good, and fight against the ugly.

5. Learn more about law

I have resources to help more people learn more about law and what it should be, in a democratic nation of laws.

  • Law is not just for lawyers
  • Think like a Lawyer? Not quite...
  • What is law

And I think it's helpful to start by learning some basic categories of law, such as:

  • Federal vs. state laws
  • Criminal law vs. civil law
  • Substantive law vs. procedural law.

See my articles here and subscribe to me on YouTube and see my Udemy courses for more.

6. Citizens have duties

Some duties are clear.

Citizens have clear duties to vote and serve on juries.

In order to vote responsibly, citizens need to have a basic understanding of law, our system of government, and what a nation of laws democracy should be.

(Jury duty requires no knowledge of law, and jurors are obligated to follow the judge's instructions on what the law is).

Citizens have the right to speak. They should do their honest best to speak reasonably and for the good of the country.

7. Politics may get dirty, but politics is not a dirty word

Our system of government requires politics, and requires attempting to persuade voters, and voters who can make an informed, reasonable decision that supports a nation of laws.

8. We get the system of law that we vote for

Citizens get the type of system of law, government and politics that they vote for. Don’t vote for selfish or corrupt candidates who will serve themselves. Vote for ethical candidates who will:

  • Serve the country (state, county, city, town, village)
  • Follow and uphold the rule of law.

9. Conclusion

Laws and our legal system are important to know about. We are a nation of laws and we all play a role in our country and legal system. Without an informed citizenry, even great nations and democracies can decline.

We all need to make legal decisions regularly (whether we know it or not), and eventually will face a significant legal issue that requires we obtain legal advice and properly understand it.

If you want to learn more about law, there is lots on this site, my YouTube channel, and my Udemy course.

10. Additional learning

This article is hosted at https://johnbandler.com/law-is-not-just-for-lawyers, copyright John Bandler, all rights reserved.

Originally posted 10/05/2026, updated 10/07/2026.