In the courtroom, language is never neutral. It can elucidate the truth or shroud it in shadow, protect the innocent or silence the vulnerable. From the arcane tangle of legal jargon to the errors of transcription, and from bias against accent or dialect, to the disregard of quiet voices, language wields the power to determine an individual’s fate in court. This article argues that language is not a mere tool of the law—it is its very substance, delivering both justice and, sometimes, injustice.