And I have seen clear one-sided bias against the Italian legal system

Keep in mind, this bias may not be entirely unjustified. The guilty blog quotes a major Italian newspaper (it says) which itself jokes about the Italian's system 'near biblical' slowness and forthrightly admits that it is the target of much legitimate criticism. And then there's the general black market economy of Italy, tax evasion, and dispect for the law. The Maxi Trial is an interesting example, without so far as I know, any American analogue:

"The existence and crimes of the Mafia had been denied or merely downplayed by many people in authority for decades, despite proof of its criminal activities dating back to the 19th century. This can be attributed in part to three particular methods used by the Mafia to provide an environment akin to near immunity - paying off key people, killing real or perceived leaks in their own organization, and threatening or even killing key people (judges, lawyers, witnesses, politicians...) were used successfully to keep many prosecution efforts at bay. In fact it was only in 1980 that it was first seriously suggested that being a member of the Mafia should be a specific criminal offence by Communist politician Pio La Torre. The law only came into effect two years later - after La Torre had been gunned down for making that very suggestion.

After Chinnici’s murder in July 1983, his successor Antonino Caponnetto, headed the pool. The Antimafia pool was a group of investigating magistrates who closely worked together sharing information on related cases to diffuse responsibility and to prevent one person from becoming the sole institutional memory and solitary target. [Shades of Death Note!]

The Maxi trial took place next to the Ucciardone (the Palermo prison) in a bunker specially designed and built to try the defendants. It was a large octagonal building made from reinforced concrete that was able to prevent rocket attacks; inside there were cages built into the green walls holding the many defendants in large groups. There were over six-hundred members of the press as well as many carabinieri wielding machine guns and a 24-hour air defense system keeping an eye on the defendants and would-be attackers attempting to thwart the efforts.

There were many critics of the Maxi Trial. Some implied that the defendants were being victimized as part of some sort of vendetta of the magistrates. The Sicilian writer Leonardo Sciascia said that: "There is nothing better for getting ahead in the magistracy than taking part in Mafia trials." Cardinal Pappalardo of the Catholic Church gave a controversial interview where he said that the Maxi Trial was "an oppressive show" and stated that abortion killed more people than the Mafia.

The Maxi Trial was largely regarded as a success. However, the appeals process soon began, which resulted in a shocking number of successful appeals on minor technicalities. Most of this was thanks to Corrado Carnevale, a judge in the pay of the Mafia who was handed control over most of the appeals by the corrupt politician Salvatore Lima.

In January 1992, Falcone and Borsellino managed to take charge of further Maxi Trial appeals. Not only did they turn many appeals down, they reversed previous successful ones, resulting in many Mafiosi who had recently swaggered out of prison after their convictions were overturned being unceremoniously rounded up and put back behind bars, in many cases for the rest of their lives....That summer, Falcone and Borsellino were murdered in audacious bomb attacks."

(My apologies for the lengthy quoting, but does this sound like a peaceful highly law-abiding nation, with an effective and uncorrupt judicature?)