Spencer Tracy stars as an American judge heading a tribunal hearing evidence against four Nazi judges. Tracy is under enormous pressure to give light sentences to the Germans, each of whom allowed crimes against humanity.  

Their defense was that they were operating under the law imposed by the Third Reich - they had no choice.

The Nazis are sentenced to life, and Tracy explains the dignity of the decision by defining what true justice really is. It's supposed to ignore politics and favoritism. The mandate is the punishment must fit the crime. Rationalizations are no excuse for hurting people.

Today in our country, the justice system is falling apart. We routinely see prosecutors fail to protect us from guilty criminals. We are witnessing a politicized FBI and Attorney General. Honest outcomes in criminal courts are increasingly in doubt as guilty people often walk free.

The same is true in civil court, where legions of dishonest lawyers try to destroy people for money. Rarely are these defamers and perjury accommodators sanctioned by a legal system that looks the other way.

Many Americans now believe justice no longer exists in our corrupted system.

This is an incredibly serious problem. If criminals go unpunished, if liars control civil disputes, if the federal government will not operate under the banner of "equal justice for all," including victims, then anarchy will emerge.

In some places, it's already here.