and the cold, methodical, manner in which it will do it.

Your day in court is a very important day. You plan, sweat, panic, reassure yourself, panic again, and go through the five stages of grief all out of order before it arrives. For the prosecutor, it's Tuesday. They are more worried about their vitamin C intake than what some rando on the docket might bring.

cold, methodical, manner

This is a harsh wake-up call for a lot of people. I think most people have had the experience of being a nice, courteous person enough that some business or official bends the rules for you.

"Oh, You filed document E-24 instead of E-24 Sub 1? Don't worry about it, here's the form you need, just take a moment and fill it out now"

Speaking as a white male born to privilege, it happened often enough that I figured that's the way the whole world works. Don't expect anyone to break or bend any rules for you, but if you're respectful, kind, and courteous, they may cut you some slack.

But oh boy, I was not prepared for that harsh reality of dealing with the justice system. There's no slack, there's no "oopsie-daisys," and if you're late/without the paperwork, you're fucked EXTRA hard. There's no empathy, they don't treat you like a person anymore, but as an "offender." And once you've earned that moniker in the court systems eyes, you're no longer deemed worthy of help or consideration.

when it comes to the american justice system, the cruelty is the point.