The difference between fair and legal

I recently read an article in the Washington Post which restored my hope in the justice system--well, one judge within one circuit anyway.

At issue was a Howard County wheelchair athlete who has been fighting to have points from her wheelchair races count toward her school's state standings. The judge ruled that it would be unfair for points from the wheelchair races to count since so few schools have wheelchair races. The student would essentially be earning uncontested points for her school to use to advance their standing. The decision had nothing to do with the validity of wheelchair racing and everything to do with making competition among the schools fair. However, what restored my hope was one little sentence:

"The state athletic association's policy toward wheelchair racers might be unfair, Davis (the judge) suggested, but it's not unlawful."

This seems like such a simple concept, yet it is often missing from court decisions. It appears this judge agrees with what my parents told me all those years growing up: life isn't fair. And the fact that it is not fair is not reason to sue someone or write a law. Sometimes things just aren't fair.

According to the article, the Howard student doesn't plan to give up her battle, and there's probably a good chance that she can find a judge who feels that unfair does indeed equate to illegal. But for now I'll cheer for this little bit of common sense.