The Mekhilta confronts one of the hardest questions in any legal system: what happens when you know the defendant is guilty — not of this particular charge, but in general? The verse commands: "You shall not incline the judgment of your needy one in his quarrel." And the Mekhilta explains that "needy" here does not mean poor in money. It means "needy in mitzvot (commandments)h" — someone impoverished in good deeds. An evildoer.
The temptation is obvious. A known criminal stands before the court on a specific charge. The judges know his history. They know his character. Surely it would serve justice to tip the scales against him, even if the evidence in this particular case is weak? After all, he deserves punishment for something.
The Torah says absolutely not. "You shall not incline the judgment" — do not tilt the verdict, do not let your knowledge of a person's general wickedness corrupt the specific proceeding before you. Every case must be judged on its own merits. Every defendant — even one who is "needy in mitzvoth," who has accumulated a record of transgression — deserves an unbiased hearing.
This principle from the Mekhilta is remarkable for its moral clarity. God commands judges to protect the procedural rights of people they personally find reprehensible. Justice is not about giving bad people what they deserve in general. It is about determining the truth of a specific claim. The moment a judge allows his opinion of the defendant to influence his ruling, the entire system collapses. Even the wicked, the Mekhilta insists, stand equal before the law.