Justice Or The Law?

"I will seek someone who understands that justice isn't about some abstract legal theory or footnote in a case book. It is also about how our laws affect the daily realities of people's lives," said the president in a surprise appearance in the White House Press Room moments after speaking with Souter by telephone.

This is a straw man. The President is of course correct that justice is not about abstract legal theory, but I know of no legal scholar or philosopher who would claim the reverse. In fact, the argument Obama wishes to criticize is not that "justice is[] about some abstract legal theory or footnote in a case book", but that "law is[] about some abstract legal theory or footnote in a case book". Law certainly is about legal theory, for that is all there is to law; there is quite a difference between the reason why laws are created (justice, we would hope) and how the laws are interpreted (abstract legal theory and footnotes in case books, I would hope).