In 1890, Judge magazine ran this blistering satire of New York’s so-called “law and order” institutions. The cartoon tears into the Police Department and District Attorney’s Office—showing bribery, stolen-goods rings, and corruption piled so high it can’t be ignored. A press investigator arrives to document the mess, while politicians scramble to avoid accountability. More than a century later, the message still hits: when state power shields itself instead of the public, justice becomes a costume. This vintage illustration exposes the same rot we continue fighting today—selective prosecution, politicized policing, and the corruption that authoritarian movements depend on.
A perfect piece of resistance art for anyone who believes democracy only survives when power is held to account.
In 1890, Judge magazine ran this blistering satire of New York’s so-called “law and order” institutions. The cartoon tears into the Police Department and District Attorney’s Office—showing bribery, stolen-goods rings, and corruption piled so high it can’t be ignored. A press investigator arrives to document the mess, while politicians scramble to avoid accountability. More than a century later, the message still hits: when state power shields itself instead of the public, justice becomes a costume. This vintage illustration exposes the same rot we continue fighting today—selective prosecution, politicized policing, and the corruption that authoritarian movements depend on.
A perfect piece of resistance art for anyone who believes democracy only survives when power is held to account.
