Why Is Judging a Person Favorably Considered an Act of Justice?
Why can giving a person the benefit of the doubt be part of judging fairly rather than ignoring the facts?
This Hagut Yosef essay asks why the Torah connects judging another person favorably with justice. Drawing on the distinction between judging an act and judging the whole person, the source argues that a fair view should include the person’s positive qualities and the limits of what we know. This does not mean ignoring danger, harm, or concrete evidence.