At 9:23 PM -0400 9/27/00, Steven Furlong wrote:
The point being that civil cases for damages should not be allowed for NONCRIMINAL issues. That is, a "matter of law" should be involved.
Example: a bookstore owner sues because another bookstore moved in across the street from him and "hurt his business."
There is no violation of any law, so it doesn't even matter whether the original bookstore was "hurt." No lawsuit possible.
Example: a woman feels insulted by the language of another.
No violation of any law, so no lawsuit possible.
I'm shocked that you were blathering on about the woman filing a civil suit for something such as "intentional infliction of emotional distress."
So, you're setting yourself up as the sole arbiter of the right? No person or group in history has been able to set up a legal or moral code which would fit all situations with no need for judgment, so you might want to question your capability.
I see that Greg Broiles has already made the main points, that lawsuits must hinge on a "matter of law." It is not enough that someone feels aggrieved--there must be some element of criminality involved. Hence my example of the bookstore owner who feels "aggrieved" that another bookstores hurt his business: there is no basis for a lawsuit, and a competent judge will quickly throw the case out.
Any person should have recourse to systematic (to avoid the word "legal") relief if he feels aggrieved.
Many people feel aggrieved, for many and diverse reasons. Courtrooms are not the answer for about 99% of these cases. I'm not bothering with the rest of your post. I don't know if you were, or are, a competent "computer condotterie" or whatever it is you say you are, but I'd say you ought to stick to that. You don't have a good intuition for how the law works. --Tim May -- ---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---- Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, ComSec 3DES: 831-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA | knowledge, reputations, information markets, "Cyphernomicon" | black markets, collapse of governments.