Yes, I remember this guy and the case. You brought up in another post something along the lines of organizations being GODS, correct me if I'm wrong, and I think the Catholic Church certainly fits that definition. The whole sex abuse history of THE Church is an in-your-face example of how the powerful can literally fuck you up the ass, pat you on the head, and get away with it.

However, his crowning achievement was to single-handedly concoct the so-called Ellis Defence, which argued (somehow successfully- see connections to his elite peers) that THE Church was not a legal entity, therefore not liable for any of the sexual abuses committed within the institution.

The Ellis Defence seems like the flipside of the US law that allows corporations to be treated as people.

The great failing of our legal system, to this day, is that covering-up certain crimes by elites is not considered a crime. Maybe one day some scientists will be held accountable for Covid - actually i doubt they will but it's an outside chance - but for sure none of those who covered it up will ever be charged with anything. They are guilty of mass-manslaughter, plain & simple, but they can rest assured that they will never have to face justice. And knowing that, they can feel absolutely free to do the same thing next time.

This is one of the three reasons I'm against the death penalty. It will never be handed out fairly. If Bob Nobody walks into a store, shoots the clerk and steals $10, he may well be executed, particularly if he's black. If Trump or Biden does the exact same thing, they won't, obviously. End of argument.

But more to your point, you're right, those at the top of the pecking order in elite institutions, be they academic, scientific, political, corporate, etc., are untouchable. They literally make the rules. Democracy and representational government have become a bad joke.