A funny thing happens when the lights are turned on bright, and they are pointed at a prosecutor and a judge.

Here’s what Superior Court Judge Michael Donio and New Jersey District Attorney Jim McClain did.

First, Judge Donio and D.A. McClain decided to let Baltimore Ravens running back, Ray Rice, avoid a criminal trial on aggravated assault charges even after they saw video evidence showing Rice violently knocking out his fiancée in an elevator and dumping her limp body outside the elevator. They both signed off on a pre-trial intervention (PTI) for Rice, which meant Rice would not face time in prison.

According to the New Jersey’s pre-trial intervention website, pre-trial intervention is used in criminal cases that don’t involve “violence” and for “victimless crimes.” Nonetheless, Rice was granted PTI.

The same judge and district attorney denied Shaneen Allen, a 27-year-old single mother of two, a pre-trial intervention when she was arrested after telling a police officer she had a Pennsylvania conceal carry permit and a gun when she was pulled over for a traffic violation in New Jersey.

When the second Ray Rice video was put online by TMZ, the lights turned on so brightly, the entire nation was paying attention.

The NFL switched its position first. It increased Rice’s penalty (a few times) from a two game suspension to finally a complete suspension from the league.

Domestic violence shot onto the national stage like never before, and the lights have been white hot since.

After the public had its way with the NFL, it turned its attention to those who let Rice off from any criminal penalties. Judge Donio and D.A. McClain found themselves on stage along with New Jersey’s strict gun control laws.

New Jersey state Attorney General John Hoffman jumped in and issued a notice to clarify the rules for pre-trial intervention, which he now says is an option in cases like Allen’s.

The stark difference in how Rice was treated compared to Allen demonstrates how the justice system treats people very differently.

“New Jersey is much like New York, in that law-abiding citizens who legally carry guns are targeted for fierce prosecution,” said Stephen Aldstadt, President of Shooters Committee on Political Education, an organization that supports Second Amendment rights and is working to repeal one of New York’s harshest gun control laws, the SAFE Act.

Prosecutor McClain issued a statement saying, “In applying the factors set out in the clarification, I determined that the defendant in this case should be offered the opportunity to be admitted into the Atlantic County PTI Program. I have communicated that determination to the court and defense counsel.”

Shaneen Allen said, “What makes Ray Rice so different from me that I couldn’t be accepted by the same prosecutor and judge? Is it that he was a pro athlete but I’m a single mother of two?”

“What appears evident is that when it comes to guns, justice isn’t blind when the lights are off and no one is paying attention,” Aldstadt added.

Now, Allen will move on with her life and her children.