Justice Without Scales

The Coincidence Committee Journal (Secret Ways to Get Good Things Done) Stardate 1028.1219

"Justice Without Scales"

In a child welfare case that tests my resolve, I stand in a courtroom facing formidable adversaries: the Division of Child Welfare, represented by the State’s Attorney General. The battle feels uneven, as if I’m a lone shepherd confronting a giant. The goalposts shift at their whim.

• First, they claimed I failed to complete a document I had not seen; then, in a later round of motions, they argued no such document was ever signed or agreed to.

• During the course of filings, my license was revoked prematurely, despite a 90-day period allowed for compliance and a scheduled check-in set for later that month.

• They point to pending matters (that are still awaiting fair adjudication) as settled evidence against me. They fault me for time apart from a child they removed without due process while simultaneously causing procedural delays.

Yet, in this storm contradictions, I remain anchored by faith, lifted by the words of Sherami L Jara’s “Fear Not Little Flock” (BYU Speeches, July 15, 2025):

“Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail.” (Doctrine & Covenants 6:34)

Sherami’s talk dispelled my shadows of doubt, reminding me that a higher justice watches over this fight. This piece follows my earlier article, “The Day I Went Toe to Toe with Goliath” (linked here), where I first shared this journey. Today, I envision a woman—Justice, embodied—standing on my behalf, her presence a testament to resilience and divine hope.

“A Court of Absences”

A lone woman stands, centered in a quiet courtroom. Her posture is not one of resistance but of resilience. She is upright with her chin slightly lifted, as though prepared to speak, or perhaps to be heard for the first time in a very long time.

Behind her, where one might expect the typical cold symmetry of state emblems or legal iconography, we see instead the warm glow of a stained-glass window. This is not the eye of the court. This is the eye of Heaven. It suggests that true justice is not rendered solely by men but watched over by a higher authority.

There are no visible scales, no sword, no blindfold. Instead, this woman is justice embodied. A human vessel. Her face is luminous but solemn. She may or may not be blind, but her gaze pierces to something deeper, perhaps what the world has refused to see.

The light in the room filters through the stained glass with softened intensity, casting a spiritual clarity over the scene. There’s both transparency and mystery. This is a courtroom of reckoning.

Layered Meanings

The Woman: She stands for me, testifying, intervening, or perhaps advocating for a child whose voice cannot yet reach the bench. She is justice embodied, a beacon of hope amid a system that shifts and delays.

Church Window in a courtroom: When the law fails, we call upon higher laws. The sacred must enter the secular if the secular forgets its duty.

The Church Window in a Courtroom: When human law falters, we call upon higher laws. The sacred enters the secular to remind us of its duty to the vulnerable.

The Child in the Stained-Glass Window: Subtle but unforgettable, a child’s silhouette appears in the upper half of the glass, not fully rendered but shaped in color and light. His arms are slightly raised—not in surrender but in quiet reaching, toward Heaven or toward the woman below. It is a silent signal: “I’m still here. Don’t stop.”

A golden halo effect encircles his head, hinting at his spiritual significance—sanctity, not forgotten, not lost. His light, held in the glass, glows from within, not from the sun, illuminating the room with the moral clarity that children, especially those silenced, carry.

He may not speak, but his image speaks volumes:

• “I saw everything.”

• “I’m waiting for justice.”

• “Don’t let them write the end without me.”

The Empty Judge’s Seat: The judge’s bench rises behind the woman like a monument left unattended—not vandalized, but vacant. No robe, no gavel, just a dark, elevated chair, heavy with absence. It does not feel neutral. It feels like someone is missing on purpose.

This emptiness speaks:

• “Judgment has not arrived.”

• “Justice has been delayed.”

• “The system is watching… but not acting.”

There is a coolness to the space, as if time stopped here. Or as if the judge stepped away not for a recess, but out of reluctance. It creates an eerie tension: Who will speak for the child if the seat remains empty?

Lady Liberty in the Courtroom: To the left, framed in soft light, Lady Liberty stands—not towering in a harbor but nestled between flags and forms. Her torch is dimmed, less a beacon and more a candle lit for remembrance or prayer.

There are no scales—this is not a debate between equal voices but a cry against imbalance, a plea to be heard where measurement has failed. This is not the Roman Justitia but American Liberty, her face turned toward the woman, watching, waiting, bearing witness. Like a guardian who cannot intervene, only endure.

Her presence raises questions:

• Has liberty been reduced to a statue?

• Is she allowed to speak in her own courts anymore?

• Or is she, too, being asked to simply observe while the real battles unfold below?

Together, the empty bench and the silent Liberty suggest a theme of suspended justice; of sacred roles abandoned, and symbols waiting to be reawakened.

The Stone in Her Hand

The woman holds a stone, its significance clear through the lens of David and Goliath. Goliath mocks David’s youth, appearance, and weapons, ridiculing his place on the battlefield. It’s not just arrogance. It’s ego, wielding size, power, and language to intimidate.

Goliath’s Words:

“And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field.” (1 Samuel 17:43–44)

David’s Response:

“Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hands.”(1 Samuel 17:45–47)

Like David, the woman—Justice, embodied—declares truth, not for her own name but for a higher cause. Goliath trusts in his might; she trusts in her God.

Thank you for your prayers and encouragement as I navigate this uncharted fight. Please share this story and lift up the voiceless, trusting that true justice will prevail.