The book “Monster” by Walter Dean Myers is about Steve, a 16 year old, that is on trial

for murder. This book is written as a screenplay in which Steve writes all about his trial and what
happens throughout the case. Steve is accused of helping out in the crime that was committed
by being the lookout in it. Throughout the book we come across many different witnesses, many
being criminals themselves. Due to there being many cases where justice has not been served,
it is our responsibility to make sure justice is always served when in court.
There has been many cases where justice has not been served due to the lack of
interest of those present in the courtroom which shows flaws in the criminal justice system. In
the text it states “All right. I’m ruling the kids testimony is admissible. You can bring up your
motions relative to that ruling this afternoon or if there is a break. Hope everyone had a good
fourth of July?” The judge during court started talking about the case and then all of the sudden
changed the subject and asked those present about their fourth of July weekend. The judge
went off topic when he should have been focused on the case. This shows that his mind had
been somewhere else and that he was not really taking the case seriously even though
someone's entire future depended on it. This shows that the justice system is flawed since the
main one making decisions in the case (the judge) is off topic which shows that he is not taking
the case as serious as he should be.
Many have felt like their opinion when in court is not taken as serious as others which
shows flaws in the criminal justice system. “Its funny but when i'm sitting in the courtroom I don’t
feel like I am involved in the case. It’s like the lawyers, the judge and everybody are doing a job
that involves me, but I don’t have a role.” When in court, Steve does not feel like he is involved
in a case where he should be the one playing the biggest role of all since he is the one being
accused. It is not fair that other are making decisions without involving him and letting him state
his part of the story. This shows that the justice system is flawed since the one being accused
does not feel like he has his say in the case.
Some might argue that justice is always served since in order to come to a final decision
you have good evidence against the suspect. The problem with this logic, however, is that many
times the evidence brought into court is not good and dependable evidence. In many cases
witnesses lie about what they have seen for their own benefit. A man named Allan Hall lied in
court about what he had seen and later on came back and admitted what he had done. The
men and women in this case that had been convicted when being innocent, thanks to the false
evidence against them in court, spent almost a decade locked up. Not all evidence brought in
court is accurate or dependable. This proves that the justice system is flawed since there are
many more cases in which false evidence is brought into court and innocent people are
convicted thanks to it.
When present in court many times those who should have the biggest say in the case
are the ones who have the least and sometimes those present in the courtroom don’t take the
case as serious as they should. The evidence brought in might also not be accurate or
trustworthy enough to convict someone. We have the responsibility to always bring justice to
those around us especially when in court. We must assure that those who are being convicted
are actually guilty before sentencing them. The justice system is full of flaws therefore it is our
responsibility as citizens to assure that justice is always served.