Justice without evidence becomes certainty with authority behind it.

When conviction runs ahead of evidence and power is standing behind it, the result is not justice but force with a good story. The process exists precisely to slow that down: to require that the belief be checked before the consequence lands. Skipping it feels efficient in the moment, especially when everybody already knows what happened.

When you are sure someone did something, notice how much of your certainty rests on what you observed and how much on how the story fits. Ask for the thing that would confirm it. The demand feels pedantic when you are right and is the only protection available on the occasions when you are not.