Posted on 06/23/2007 12:23:04 AM PDT by Lorianne
“I am almost wondering if judges should be required to pass a sanity test.”
Since many local judges are political appointees, qualifications are rarely a consideration. NJ is in serious trouble in this area.
The alleged victim is being legally raped by a judge.
Ever read the USPS rules concerning advertising copy in periodicals? The thing is that editorial matter (stories, BS, commentary) are charged postage at a lower rate than the advertising portion.
Consequently editors are always looking to make an end-run around the rules and pass off advertising as feature articles ~ e.g. "restaurant reviews".
As a practical matter these detailed rules can be applied only to periodicals printed in English. The foreign language press in the United States is exempt from the full effect of the rules and ends up being mailed at lower postage rates than their English language press competitors.
These situations arise because English is not the national language. If it were the foreign language press would be required to submit a full translation or pay the higher postage rate, and the Spanish words for "marriage" and "family values" would be subjected to suppression in California.
Which means you and I really do pay a price for the failure of Congress to act and make English the national language.
Not that point of this article.
Not the point of this article.
Not the point of this article.
So who is going to tell Sir William Blackstone that he was wrong when he wrote in the legal classic Commentaries on the Laws of England:
III. A THIRD offense, against the female part also of his majesty's subjects, but attended with greater aggravations than that of forcible marriage, is the crime of rape, raptus mulierum, or the carnal knowledge of a woman forcibly and against her will. This, by the Jewish law,19 was punished with death, in case the damsel was betrothed to another man; and, in case she was not betrothed, then a heavy fine of fifty shekels was to be paid to the damsels's father, and she was to be the wife of the ravisher all the days of his life; without that power of divorce, which was in general permitted by the Mosaic law.
THE civil law20punishes the crime of ravishment with death and confiscation of goods: under which it includes both the offense of forcible abduction, or taking away a woman from her friends, of which we last spoke; and also the present offense of forcibly dishonoring them; either of which, without the other, is in that law, sufficient to constitute a capital crime. Also the stealing away a woman from her parents or guardians, and debauching her, is equally penal by the emperor's edict, whether she consent or is forced: "sive volentibus, sive nolentibus mulieribus, tale facinus fuerit perpetratum." ["The crime will be the same whether the woman consent or not."] And this, in order to take away from women every opportunity of offending in this way; whom the Roman laws suppose never to go astray, without the seduction and arts of the other sex: and therefore, by restraining and making so highly penal the solicitations of the men, they meant to secure effectually the honor of the women. "Si enim ipsi raptores metu, vel atrocitate poenae, ab hujusmodi facinore fe temperaverint, mulli mulieri, sive volenti, sive nolenti, peccandi locus relinquetur; quia hoc ipsum velle mulierum, ab insidiis nequissimi hominis, qui meditatur rapinam, inducitur. Nisi etenim eam solicitaverit, nisi odiosis artibus circumvenerit, non faciet eam velle in tantum dedecus sese prodere." ["For if the ravisher be restrained from a crime of this nature, either by fear or severity of punishment, no opportunity is left for a woman to offend either willingly or unwillingly, because the desire is always raised in her by the wicked seductions of the man who meditates the violence. For unless he solicit her, unless he compass his design by odious arts, he could never make her wish to betray herself to such dishonor."] But our English law does not entertain quite such sublime ideas of the honor of either sex, as to lay the blame of a mutual fault upon one of the transgressors only: and therefore makes it a necessary ingredient in the crime of rape, that it must be against the woman's will.
RAPE was punished by the Saxon laws, particularly those of king Athelstan,21 with death: which was also agreeable to the old Gothic or Scandinavian constitutions.22 But this was afterwards thought too hard: and in its stead another severe, but not capital, punishment was inflicted by William the conqueror; viz. castration and loss of eyes;23 which continued till after Bracton wrote, in the reign of Henry the third. But in order to prevent malicious accusations, it was then the law, (and, it seems, still continues to be so in appeals of rape24) that the woman should immediately after, "dum recens fuerit maleficium" ["while the injury is recent"], go to the next town, and there make discovery to some credible persons of the injury she has suffered; and afterwards should acquaint the high constable of the hundred, the coroners, and the sheriff with the outrage.25 This seems to correspond in some degree with the laws of Scotland and Arragon,26 which require that complaint must be made within twenty four hours: though afterwards by statute Westm. 1 c. 13. the time of limitation in England was extended to forty days. At present there is no time of limitation fixed: for, as it is usually now punished by indictment at the suit of the king, the maxim of law takes place that nullum tempus occurrit regi [no time runs against the king]: but the jury will rarely give credit to a stale complaint. During the former period also it was held for law,27 that the woman (by consent of the judge and her parents) might redeem the offender from the execution of his sentence, by accepting him for her husband; if he also was willing to agree to the exchange, but not otherwise.
IN the 3 Edw. I. by the statute Westm. 1. c. 13. the punishment of rape was much mitigated: the offense itself being reduced to a trespass, if not prosecuted by the woman within forty days, and subjecting the offender only to two years imprisonment, and a fine at the king's will. But, this lenity being productive of the most terrible consequences, it was in ten years afterwards, 13 Edw I. found necessary to make the offense of rape felony, by statute Westm. 2. c. 34. And by statute 18 Eliz. c. 7. it is made felony without benefit of clergy: as is also the abominable wickedness of carnally knowing or abusing any woman child under the age of ten years; in which case the consent or non-consent is immaterial, as by reason of her tender years she is incapable of judgment and discretion. Sir Matthew Hale is indeed of opinion, that such profligate actions committed on an infant under the age of twelve years, the age of female discretion by the common law, either with or without consent, amount to rape and felony; as well since as before the statute of queen Elizabeth:28 but the law has in general been held only to extend to infants under ten.
A MALE infant, under the age of fourteen years, is presumed by law incapable to commit a rape, and therefore it seems cannot be found guilty of it. For though in other felonies malitia supplet aetatem [malice is equivalent to age], as has in some cases been shown; yet, as to this particular species of felony, the law supposes an imbecility of body as well as mind.29
“I am almost wondering if judges should be required to pass a sanity test.”Since many local judges are political appointees, qualifications are rarely a consideration. NJ is in serious trouble in this area.
NJ????? what are you smoking????
the great peoples republic of NJ does not require sanity in political/judicial/executive decisions....the only requirements ~ they are lib/dems and they are breathing...vis a vis ~ lausenberg (braindead but a US senator)!!!
I’ll bet Clinton is proud of that pick. And I’m serious when I say that.
I’ll bet Clinton is proud of that pick. And I’m serious when I say that.
Definitions are the guardians of reason & logic. Men in Black have made careers out of attacking basic building blocks of thought/communication/life.
I am sure he is.
By the way, when I say she claimed racism from the bench, what she did was accuse the government of wanting the death penalty to the driver of that van where all those people were killed in that heat box because he was black.
There were other people involved, but none of them were the driver. He was definitely culpable - be she sees race in everything (but she isn't a racist {sarcasm}).
God help us from these out of control judges. Congress has the power to impeach them - but almost never does so.
Congress - what good are they? All they are doing lately is trying to shove stupid bills down the throats of the American people.
“...’Rape’ is not even a legal term, he noted.”
If lawyers are limited to legal terms, the jury won’t understand what they’re talking about.
Wonder what political party these judges belong to?
But she has all the credentials for being a liberal airhead. That’s all you need to get a Democratic nomination to the bench.
And they complain about Roberts and Alito.
Sure Clinton is. As the first black President, he put a sistah on the bench. That’s all that matters. Fills the requirement of appointing an African-American judge. Doesn’t have to be an intelligent African-American judge. Expect more of this in spades if Hillary becomes President.
And they complain about Clarence Thomas.
That’s ridiculous! Juries are not to determine the meaning of words. That’s Webster’s job. The jury was supposed to learn them in school, to use them as adults. Looks like the judge and atty’s in this case are on hard drugs and will be playing charades for the jury.
I know it wasn’t the point of the article. I realize the judge is an idiot. I was merely making a comment that this may be a case where the woman regrets making a stupid mistake. Bet the accused thinks he made a stupid mistake in having sex with her, a well.
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