Re: Forced disclosures, document seizures, Right and Wrong.
Black Unicorn wrote:
A legal education is the ultimate dose of practical cynicism. It quickly becomes apparent not that the law isn't perfect, but that it is often pretty damn screwed up. American jurisprudence is about _fairness of process_, not justice, or right, or wrong.
Come now, surely justice, right, and wrong are lurking in there somewhere? The word "justice" is used frequently by the legal crowd. For examples, "the Justice Department", "The Justices of the Supreme Court", and that blindfolded lady with the scales, all suggest to the general public that the idea is to somehow provide justice. Nearly everybody who is not a lawyer believes that's a service a legal system is intended to provide. Perhaps I miss your point. Is your statement intended as a condemnation of the U.S. legal system? Which legal systems do you believe are about justice, right, and wrong?
----- Original Message ----- From: "Nomen Nescio" <nobody@dizum.com> To: <cypherpunks@cyberpass.net> Sent: Wednesday, August 01, 2001 2:30 AM Subject: Re: Forced disclosures, document seizures, Right and Wrong.
Black Unicorn wrote:
A legal education is the ultimate dose of practical cynicism. It quickly becomes apparent not that the law isn't perfect, but that it is often pretty damn screwed up. American jurisprudence is about _fairness of process_, not justice, or right, or wrong.
Come now, surely justice, right, and wrong are lurking in there somewhere?
Frustratingly, not in my experience. Sure, the good guy (whoever you define that to be) wins occasionally, but, as one supreme court justice put it, while declining to free a clearly innocent convicted murderer because there was no material error at trial: "The Constitution doesn't guarantee a correct verdict, the Constitution guarantees due process."
Perhaps I miss your point. Is your statement intended as a condemnation of the U.S. legal system? Which legal systems do you believe are about justice, right, and wrong?
Oh, really I'm just moaning out loud. All such systems are imperfect by definition. The defining factor in the U.S. system is ex ante money. The victor usually spends the most up front. (Though not always) The defining factor in Italy is political connections, the victor had the judge over a barrel. The defining factor in Mexico is ex post money (the loser buys his way into an appeal or "escape.") Choose your poison.
On Wed, 1 Aug 2001, Nomen Nescio wrote:
Perhaps I miss your point. Is your statement intended as a condemnation of the U.S. legal system? Which legal systems do you believe are about justice, right, and wrong?
None. -- ____________________________________________________________________ Nature and Nature's laws lay hid in night: God said, "Let Tesla be", and all was light. B.A. Behrend The Armadillo Group ,::////;::-. James Choate Austin, Tx /:'///// ``::>/|/ ravage@ssz.com www.ssz.com .', |||| `/( e\ 512-451-7087 -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'- --------------------------------------------------------------------
participants (3)
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Black Unicorn -
Jim Choate -
Nomen Nescio