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Justice Sector Corruption in Ethiopia 191
justify a decision not to appeal an adverse decision), they often have
perverse consequences (in this case, a plethora of needless appeals).
International Experience with Justice Sector Corruption
Countries differ markedly in the levels of justice sector corruption
estimated by experts and perceived by the public—and those experts’
estimates and public perceptions need not coincide. Recent surveys in
European countries, for example, show markedly low (50 percent or less)
public faith in the judiciaries of Belgium, France, Germany, Spain, and the
United Kingdom (Toharia 2003, 29), although most experts would
contend that those countries are relatively corruption free. Likewise, in
the United States, public surveys indicate that a large portion of citizens
do not believe they will “get a fair trial,” although it is not clear whether
they attribute these anticipated outcomes to bias and the power of the
wealthy to hire a better lawyer or to out-and-out corruption. One suspects
the answer is more toward the former end.
Developed countries. Of course, the United States and most European
countries have had their share of judicial corruption cases. One of the
most famous was the Operation Greylord investigations of corruption
networks in the Cook County (Chicago) courts, which produced the
indictment and conviction of some 70 officers of the court (judges, lawyers,
and clerks responsible for assigning cases [Special Commission
1998]). A more recent (April 2009) example involved two juvenile court
judges in Pennsylvania who were tried and convicted for accepting money
from private detention centers to send young offenders to serve time
there—also known as the “kids for cash” case. Corruption in various U.S.
police departments has also been well documented over the years.
These examples aside, justice sector corruption in developed countries
is considerably less extensive than in many developing nations and usually
takes the form of individual rather than organized malfeasance. The
Chicago investigation and convictions represented an exceptional case,
but even there, the networks were internal to the judiciary, not directed
by higher-level political and government elites.
Developing and undeveloped countries. In other regions, corruption is
often linked to political interference whereby political elites assert control
over the sector agencies as a means of influencing decisions and
actions; guaranteeing immunity for themselves and their allies; and, if less