Justice Delayed Is Justice Denied: Jack Smith, ICE, and the Cost of Waiting

Guest article by Dina Doll

Jack Smith’s testimony today was both inspiring and painful to hear. He spoke clearly and forcefully about the rule of law and the vast body of evidence showing former President Trump’s efforts to incite an insurrection and overturn the 2020 election. Yet the fact that it took Merrick Garland nearly two years before appointing him serves as a reminder that justice delayed is justice denied.

That truth was impossible to ignore today as special counsel Jack Smith testified before Congress, defending the work he was appointed to do nearly two years after Trump incited the insurrection on January 6, 2021. His appointment came far too late to protect our democracy from Trump because the delay meant that the two indictments he secured against Trump never went to trial.

It was this delay, and not the Supreme Court that saved Trump. As awful as the immunity ruling was, the Court ruled that presidents have absolute criminal immunity only for Article II acts, as for a president’s other official conduct or private conduct that was still fair game. In fact, in a civil case brought by Capitol officers and others against Trump, the D.C. Court of Appeals had already allowed the civil lawsuit to proceed, finding that the plaintiffs had made a prima facie argument that Trump’s speech on January 6 was a private campaign speech because the rally was paid for with campaign money. Smith himself proceeded with his indictments against Trump even after the Court’s immunity decision; he just revised them accordingly. The real problem was timing. By the time the legal questions, all foreseeable, were resolved, the election was around the corner and Trump was elected. We have all suffered as a result.

Smith’s testimony was heartening in one sense. It showed there are good people within the justice system who insist on facts, evidence, and the principle that no one is above the law. But there was also a sobering sadness. Even good, important work from the best people can come too late.

Thursday Afternoon News Updates — 1/22/26

We can’t continue to make the same mistake. And nowhere is that warning more painfully clear than in what ICE is doing on the streets of America. We cannot delay bringing charges against Jonathan Ross, the ICE agent responsible for the shooting of Renée Nicole Good in Minneapolis earlier this month. Good, a 37-year-old mother of three and a U.S. citizen, was fatally shot by Ross because, according to Trump, she wasn’t being “respectful” enough. Unfortunately, her death is part of a larger pattern. Dozens of people have died in ICE custody or during federal enforcement actions in the past year, with several cases appearing to meet the medical examiner’s standard for homicide.

Right now, Democrats in Congress are deciding whether to fund ICE again, knowing the agency continues to terrorize communities with little accountability. Some argue passing the bill is a pragmatic way to secure modest reforms, even if it leaves millions exposed to harm today. But for the families and neighborhoods already living under ICE’s shadow, waiting for “future fixes” leaves them unprotected and powerless against what appears to be Trump’s personal police force. Democrats in Congress should take note: justice delayed is justice denied.

Smith’s testimony reminds us that accountability matters but it should also remind us that it must happen with urgency, or it may as well not happen at all. Justice cannot wait, and people cannot wait. He was appointed nearly two years too late. We cannot afford to repeat this history.

We owe it to each other to demand that systems act promptly, that investigations are thorough but timely, and that every human life is valued equally. Justice delayed is not merely a procedural problem. It is a moral failure with real consequences.

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Dina Doll is an experienced attorney and legal analyst. She hosts the MissTrial podcast on MeidasTouch and co-hosts Unprecedented on Legal AF. Dina also serves as the legal expert for Access Hollywood’s Trial Files and provides regular legal commentary for CNN, NewsNation, and other national media outlets. In addition to her media work, she is a delegate to the California Democratic Party, a community activist, and a City Library Commissioner.