By acquitting the person who stands accused of violating an unjust law, the jury does not rewrite the law in question. It merely nullifies it in that particular case. Eventually, the statists will get the message that the law must be changed, since they cannot get convictions under it. The final responsibility for changing the law rests with the legislature, where it belongs. The lack of this jury prerogative has allowed oppressive laws to go unchecked.
Andrew B. Spiegel
Wheaton, IL
Ms. Postrel replies: My argument is not with the juries of Lysander Spooner's day--from which I would have been excluded for reasons having nothing to do with my attitudes toward convictions or tort law--but with the juries of our own day and with the legal system and culture that encourage the acquittal of defendants who admit to committing violent crimes but offer their own "victimhood" to excuse their actions. High-profile cases in which defendants can attract far better lawyers than the typical public defender may not yield typical trial results, but they are indicative of widespread attitudes--despite the conventional wisdom that Americans are outraged about crime.
The jury system undoubtedly needs an overhaul. But those who argue for giving juries explicit responsibility for ruling on the law as well as the facts of a case ought to consider the implications of that policy when it is combined with a culture of victimhood that declines to hold individuals responsible for their actions (a moral judgment, pace Mr. Barry) and a jury system that screens out huge swaths of the population, including those people who are most likely to apply the law objectively. (Because jurors aren't adequately compensated for their time and are therefore excused if their employers' don't pay for their jury days, the system also stacks juries with government employees and retirees.) And they might consider the effect that jury discretion has already had on the tort system: "Compassionate" jurors have used their power to redistribute huge sums from "deep-pocket" defendants to injured parties even when the defendants' responsibility for the injury is minimal or nonexistent.
Business Burdens
The next time you address unfunded mandates from government (Trends, Mar.), you should consider the most onerous and burdensome of all--those imposed on private business and industry. As of now, private businesses are required to:
a) discover, report on, and impose sanctions for violations of the federal laws regarding immigration and "undocumented" labor (without, of course, running afoul of an array of contradictory civil-rights statutes and mandates);
b) obtain, post, and maintain a variety of warning signs and posters covering everything from breathing suspected carcinogens, drinking spirits while pregnant, and filing for worker's compensation benefits to practicing earthquake and fire safety;
c) reconstruct or modify their facilities and practices to accommodate an as yet undetermined aggregation of disabled employees and customers, so far including (among many others) recovering alcoholics, former mental patients, obese people, and those with actual physical disabilities;
d) obtain a wide assortment of licenses, permits, approvals, and authorities from several levels of government simply to be allowed to conduct their business;
e) levy, collect, and remit various sales, use, excise, withholding, Social Security, and other taxes; and
f) develop procedures for, enforce,
and report on the enforcement of dozens of workplace statutes and
regulations,
including those concerned with health, zoning, safety, injuries,
construction, emergencies, parking, lighting, and air quality.
All this is expected without any funding from the entities imposing the requirements. Indeed, in addition to the inherent costs of carrying out these mandates, businesses are usually required to pay the regulators for all sorts of mandatory filings, documents, permits, and audits. I suspect the aggregate cost to private businesses (and the U.S. economy) of meeting these "unfunded mandates" makes the cost to the cities pale into insignificance.
Paul Bent
Long Beach, CA
Mailed and Mauled
Editor's Note: We invite comments and request that they be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of Reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment for any reason at any time.
canada gooses parka|5.9.10 @ 11:53PM|#
This situation shifted the post-NAFTA political discourse even more to the left, as Colosio attempted to regain ground by repeatedly promising increased spending. By the time Camacho announced he would not seek the presidency, Colosio was running a completely populist campaign based on the loosely defined concept of "social reform." His platform favored a "redistributive" state but was short on economic specifics. Candidate Colosio probably would have won the election, but President Colosio could have delayed, redirected, or impeded the continuation of Salinas's program and might even have embarked on a government spending spree that the country could not afford.
nfl jerseys|11.17.10 @ 3:30AM|#
sryhtr
منتدى العرب|3.9.11 @ 9:32PM|#
Thank you