IT WAS THE TYPE OF CASE I normally would refuse. Close family friends had called to ask me to help their teenage son, who had just been arrested for drunken driving. I agreed to represent him as his attorney out of my love for the family.

It must have been love that impelled me because all the signs indicated that I should not take the case. I had never practiced criminal defense law. The local jurisdiction leads the way in cracking down on drinking while driving. Representatives of citizens' groups regularly sit in the traffic court to monitor the laxity or severity of punishment meted out by judges. Also, I had to overcome my own animosity toward drunken drivers. In the past, I had applauded every stern sentence.

Furthermore, having spent hours on patrol with police officers and having observed many traffic arrests, I knew exactly what the young man must have experienced. It had been a textbook arrest; there were no "technicalities" or "legal loopholes." He admitted that he had been intoxicated and very scared. The police officer had acted appropriately and had taken the right steps in arresting him.

The young man was scared, not only of the possible punishment, but also of what could have happened while he was driving. It was clear to me that he had already learned an important lesson, and he was sincerely repentant.

What should I do? It appeared to me he was guilty and legally deserved some punishment. I refused to try "to get him off on a technicality." Yet I honestly believed he was already on the path to reformation.

I prayed to God for direction. This psalm guided me: "Blessed art thou, O Lord: teach me thy statutes. With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches. I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways. I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word. ...Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law" (Ps. 119:12-16, 18).

I considered who controlled the young man's future, his destiny. Who or what had jurisdiction over him? Black's Law Dictionary defines jurisdiction as the authority by which courts and judges take cognizance of and decide cases. It is also the legal right by which judges exercise their authority. It is the authority, capacity, power, or right to act.

I found comfort and hope in what Mary Baker Eddy wrote about jurisdiction in Science and Health: "The real jurisdiction of the world is in Mind, controlling every effect and recognizing all causation as vested in divine Mind" (p. 379). The marginal note to this passage is "Jurisdiction of Mind." Mind is one of the synonyms for God. Thus, real jurisdiction is vested in God. I knew, as the Bible assured, that the case was governed by God's law.

I pondered the deep significance of this spiritual perspective on jurisdiction, and I saw more clearly the spiritual foundation of this case.

First, God is both omnipresent and omnipotent — ever present and all-powerful. Therefore, His jurisdiction is all-encompassing. We are all within it. No one can be outside it. There is no higher power nor any alternative power. He is the only cause and creator.

Second, God is good, totally. He does not even know error or evil. Consequently, His jurisdiction and everything within it are good, totally.

Third, everyone — defendants, attorneys, judges, bailiffs, victims — are all children, ideas, made in the image of God. As Mrs. Eddy declares in her writings, we are reflections of God. Therefore, we are nothing less than good, totally.

Finally, since we cannot escape God's jurisdiction, which is infinite, we cannot escape the good God bestows. In summary, we are the creation of God, good. Hence, we, too, must truly be good. Since God's jurisdiction is both infinite and all-good, there is no room for error or evil.

I still had to go to court, with my frightened client in tow. We agreed that he was guilty of the charge and that he deserved some punishment. We also agreed that his action was morally wrong as well as illegal. Yet, we realized that in God's court the ultimate verdict is spiritual growth, not continued suffering.

We went to court. As expected, in the second row sat several observers monitoring the laxity or severity of the judge's sentences. My client pleaded guilty and acknowledged his remorse. He outlined our proposed penalty. The judge, demonstrating public firmness, issued the strict penalties we expected, but in a manner that exceeded our best expectations. The result was not only appropriate, it was just and good. It met the community's need for "firmness in the right" and the young man's need for growth.

Perhaps a similar trial had inspired the Psalmist to write: "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes" (Ps. 19:7, 8).

As a gift to the family, I waived my fees. Nevertheless, the following summer I received monthly checks from the young man paying my bill. He has since married and is raising children of his own.

The purity of divine Principle and justice originally attracted me to the practice of law. The Bible perceptively describes God's jurisdiction: "Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other" (Ps. 85:10). The lessons from this case aided me greatly in a subsequent case. I grew to understand that justice is not my burden, for it is the nature of God's infinite goodness, God's jurisdiction.