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How Modern Law Makes Us Powerless - (And Lawyers Powerful)
The Wall Street Journal ^ | 1/26/2009 | Philip K. Howard

Posted on 01/26/2009 4:41:59 AM PST by Loud Mime

"Calling for a "new era of responsibility" in his inaugural address, President Barack Obama reminded us that there are no limits to "what free men and women can achieve."

"But there's a threshold problem for our new president. Americans don't feel free to reach inside themselves and make a difference. The growth of litigation and regulation has injected a paralyzing uncertainty into everyday choices."

"Here we stand, facing the worst economy since the Great Depression, and Americans no longer feel free to do anything about it. We have lost the idea, at every level of social life, that people can grab hold of a problem and fix it. Defensiveness has swept across the country like a cold wave. We have become a culture of rule followers, trained to frame every solution in terms of existing law or possible legal risk. The person of responsibility is replaced by the person of caution. When in doubt, don't.

(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: law; modern

1 posted on 01/26/2009 4:42:00 AM PST by Loud Mime
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To: Loud Mime

The only sure-thing about President Obama’s rule is that litigation will grow.


2 posted on 01/26/2009 4:48:08 AM PST by Loud Mime (Dems: Republicans are enemies - Bush: Democrats are Friends)
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To: Loud Mime
Excellent article and it is true but did not say what it should have: “Modern law has shredded the Constitution and taken our freedoms so that lawyers can get rich and run the country just as dictators do.” A amendment should be made to the Constitution so that lawyers cannot ever serve in any government elected position.
3 posted on 01/26/2009 4:56:15 AM PST by YOUGOTIT (The Greatest Threat to our Security is the Royal 100 Club)
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To: Loud Mime

You might be interested in this collection of quotes about juries and their power.

http://www.levellers.org/jrp/orig/jrp.jurquotes.htm

I also suggest reading about the 1895 Sparf VS US trial. It led to a supreme court decision that jurors need not be told of their rights. It led to the dumbing down of jurors and the growth of court and attorney power.


4 posted on 01/26/2009 5:04:09 AM PST by cripplecreek (The poor bastards have us surrounded.)
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To: YOUGOTIT
JOHN ADAMS (1771): It's not only ....(the juror's) right, but his duty, in that case, to find the verdict according to his own best understanding, judgement, and conscience, though in direct opposition to the direction of the court.

ALEXANDER HAMILTON (1804): Jurors should acquit even against the judge's instruction...."if exercising their judgement with discretion and honesty they have a clear conviction that the charge of the court is wrong."

THOMAS JEFFERSON: "To consider the judges as the ultimate arbiters of all constitutional questions is a very dangerous doctrine indeed, and one which would place us under the despotism of an oligarchy."

U.S. v. DOUGHERTY, 473 F.2d. 1113, 1139 (1972): "The pages of history shine on instances of the jury's exercise of its prerogative to disregard instructions of the judge...."

5 posted on 01/26/2009 5:07:33 AM PST by cripplecreek (The poor bastards have us surrounded.)
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To: Loud Mime

When I was young (back in the mid-70’s) it was not unusual for 6-8 of us young guys to walk through the neighborhood with our BB guns and pellet guns and go over to the abandoned gravel plant at 56th & Allisonville and shoot things. Cans, birds, bottles, whatever. When done we’d walk back through the neighborhood to our homes, and play some football or basketball or whatever.

Can you imagine kids trying to do this today? You’d have the SWAT team called out, the kids would be taken to juvenile detention, branded as terrorists and waived to adult court.

All thanks to lawyers and the government.


6 posted on 01/26/2009 5:08:02 AM PST by henkster (When I was young I was told anyone could be President. Now I believe it.)
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To: YOUGOTIT

Remember the line from “Henry VI” by Shakespeare: “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.” A tad drastic, perhaps, given that we could use some of them for busboys and busgirls and manual laborers and such; you know, for doing “the jobs Americans won’t do.”

There are some good lawyers out there, for sure, but they are greatly outnumbered by the self-serving egotists who comprise the bulk of the legal profession.


7 posted on 01/26/2009 5:10:31 AM PST by ought-six ( Multiculturalism is national suicide, and political correctness is the cyanide capsule.)
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To: YOUGOTIT

The laws no longer protect us from the government.
The laws now protect those in government from us.


8 posted on 01/26/2009 5:10:59 AM PST by LFOD (IRAQ - Back in Dixie)
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To: Loud Mime
So many things people today are denied because of laws and lawyers. I feel fortunate to have grown up before the advent of protective laws, and avoidance of all risk, and liability. There are so many experiences that my peers and I had growing up that young people today will never enjoy because of lawyers. As youngsters we took prudent risks, and learned from our mistakes. We never considered that someone would be sued or that someone else would be responsible for our mistakes, so consequently we didn’t make many mistakes, or at least not serious mistakes.
If this country had the lawyers and laws in the 1800’s that we have today, the west would never have been developed, or even discovered. The wagon masters leading the settlers to the west would not have been able to afford the liability insurance to lead the wagon trains given all the risks. The environmentalist would have curtailed all development with laws, restrictions, and endless studies on the impact of a westward migration. And pity the poor settlers when halfway to the new land, the government would have a wagon recall for safety upgrades, requiring the wagons to return to Saint Jo for repairs. And the lawyers would have had a field day with the Donner Party, or the unfortunate settlers that happened to travel through Death Valley.
9 posted on 01/26/2009 5:12:10 AM PST by RLM
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To: Loud Mime

America is a tyranny of lawyers.

The law is what an attorney can convince a judge


10 posted on 01/26/2009 5:14:22 AM PST by bert (K.E. N.P. +12 . The original point of America was not to be Europe)
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To: YOUGOTIT

Shredded, right. Banned from official jobs, nah. Think elaborate shadow gov.


11 posted on 01/26/2009 5:14:58 AM PST by lin
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To: Loud Mime
"A little rebellion now and then is a good thing," Thomas Jefferson wrote to James Madison, .....

As with everything since 'the beginning' the liberal brain perverts everything. This current bunch of elected now totally in charge were indoctrinated using the techniques of the first rebellion... as per Saul Alinsky's instruction manual 'Rules for Radicals'.

"Rules for Radicals" begins with an unusual tribute: "From all our legends, mythology, and history (and who is to know where mythology leaves off and history begins – or which is which), the first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own kingdom – Lucifer."

http://www.tysknews.com/Articles/dnc_corruption.htm

12 posted on 01/26/2009 5:16:03 AM PST by Just mythoughts
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To: cripplecreek

You are right about the dumbing down of jurors. I deal with litigation on a daily basis in my job, and the one constatnt is that jurors want only to be entertained while sitting in the box; the facts and the law are distractions to them.


13 posted on 01/26/2009 5:17:13 AM PST by ought-six ( Multiculturalism is national suicide, and political correctness is the cyanide capsule.)
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To: henkster

Skunks and coons terrorize my suburban neighborhood.There are no dogs on patrol. People let their cats run free and leave food out..... the skunks and coons eat it.


14 posted on 01/26/2009 5:17:54 AM PST by bert (K.E. N.P. +12 . The original point of America was not to be Europe)
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To: Loud Mime

Our current state of affairs is IMO a direct consequence of the misguided belief that we can legislate and regulate our way to some sort of social paradise. Utter and total folly, but a driving force in public affairs since at least the 60’s.


15 posted on 01/26/2009 5:18:39 AM PST by Senator John Blutarski (The progress of government: republic, democracy, technocracy, bureaucracy, plutocracy, kleptocracy,)
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To: henkster

“When I was young (back in the mid-70’s) it was not unusual for 6-8 of us young guys to walk through the neighborhood with our BB guns and pellet guns and go over to the abandoned gravel plant at 56th & Allisonville and shoot things. Cans, birds, bottles, whatever. When done we’d walk back through the neighborhood to our homes, and play some football or basketball or whatever.”

When I was young (in the early to mid-1960s) we would walk to the bean fields and canyons near our homes openly carrying our .22s. This was in Southern California, in a Los Angeles suburb. My, how times have changed.


16 posted on 01/26/2009 5:20:25 AM PST by ought-six ( Multiculturalism is national suicide, and political correctness is the cyanide capsule.)
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To: LFOD

“The laws no longer protect us from the government.
The laws now protect those in government from us.”

DING! DING! DING! We have a winner!


17 posted on 01/26/2009 5:21:49 AM PST by ought-six ( Multiculturalism is national suicide, and political correctness is the cyanide capsule.)
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To: Loud Mime; cripplecreek

“The only sure-thing about President Obama’s rule is that litigation will grow.”
********************

Yes, and most of the litigation occurs in urban areas- the blue cities, where blue jurors can’t wait to use damage awards to redistribute the wealth.


18 posted on 01/26/2009 5:22:40 AM PST by Canedawg (Lincoln freed the slaves, BO will free the terrorists.)
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To: ought-six

If the jurors in the John Couey trial had been given a clue about their rights, Couey would have been executed within months at the most.

Jurors have every right to question and cross examine. Jurors have every right to decide what is and isn’t admissable in court.

If jurors are informed, we may not always get the outcome we like but I think we would all feel a lot more at ease with our courts.


19 posted on 01/26/2009 5:25:25 AM PST by cripplecreek (The poor bastards have us surrounded.)
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To: Loud Mime

Legislators at all levels pass “laws” they never read, year after year. No one judge or executive, much less constituent can ever master even a summary understanding of it all. It is a law bubble, and will collapse like the others at some point, it is inevitable. Part of the grand plan. We have already passed the point of any rational “return to basic principals” when it comes to the legal system, IMHO.

I have thought this way since 2nd year law school, 35 years ago.


20 posted on 01/26/2009 5:26:04 AM PST by lin
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To: RLM

Re: Your post #9.

So very, very true.


21 posted on 01/26/2009 5:27:08 AM PST by ought-six ( Multiculturalism is national suicide, and political correctness is the cyanide capsule.)
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To: cripplecreek
Thank you excellent reply. I need that data for a page or two that I am writing about what jurors should know,
22 posted on 01/26/2009 5:30:40 AM PST by YOUGOTIT (The Greatest Threat to our Security is the Royal 100 Club)
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To: Senator John Blutarski

“Our current state of affairs is IMO a direct consequence of the misguided belief that we can legislate and regulate our way to some sort of social paradise. Utter and total folly, but a driving force in public affairs since at least the 60’s.”

Exactly. I was born in 1951, so I was an eye witness to the collapse of America as the land of the free and the home of the brave. While we still have a few brave souls in the US, we are no longer a free people. The left has seen to that, but the real fault rests with those who allowed it to happen.


23 posted on 01/26/2009 5:32:17 AM PST by ought-six ( Multiculturalism is national suicide, and political correctness is the cyanide capsule.)
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To: YOUGOTIT

I’ve got more on my FR homepage.


24 posted on 01/26/2009 5:36:19 AM PST by cripplecreek (The poor bastards have us surrounded.)
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To: cripplecreek

I’m scheduled for jury duty in two weeks....here in California. Thanks for the information on your FR page!


25 posted on 01/26/2009 5:43:08 AM PST by Loud Mime (Dems: Republicans are enemies - Bush: Democrats are Friends)
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To: Loud Mime
Sorry to say it, but some day lawyers will hang from trees, nation wide.

If you are a lawyer, you might want to join a lawyer anti-lawyer organization so that you can have some documentary proof that you were ‘against the system’.

26 posted on 01/26/2009 5:49:03 AM PST by Leisler
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To: ought-six

There is a lot of money to be made, stripping the assets of a declining, elderly, feeble in history and political philosophy people.


27 posted on 01/26/2009 5:50:41 AM PST by Leisler
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To: Leisler
Not a lawyer, but did beat one in court two years ago! (not physically)
28 posted on 01/26/2009 5:54:35 AM PST by Loud Mime (Dems: Republicans are enemies - Bush: Democrats are Friends)
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To: ought-six

We have a society that is built, run and changed by an elite of lawyers, socialists, financiers and marketeer.

It, the society, is a anti democratic product, and beyond the desires or understanding of a median citizen. Therefor it isn’t their society. Therefor it ought not be supported, and in many ways it isn’t.

This constant and further gulf, or spreading, between the masses and the elites is classic stage for revolt.


29 posted on 01/26/2009 5:57:12 AM PST by Leisler
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To: ought-six

ought-six wrote: “Exactly. I was born in 1951, so I was an eye witness to the collapse of America as the land of the free and the home of the brave. While we still have a few brave souls in the US, we are no longer a free people. The left has seen to that, but the real fault rests with those who allowed it to happen.”

..... I do believe that there is a path back. The Left has shown us the way. Organization at the grass roots level. Establishment of a nationwide network of inter-related and coordinated “social activism” interest groups, rigorous party discipline, headline grabbing guerilla theater, ceaseless attack and ridicule of the Left and its policies in Alinsky-like fashion. It worked for them and it will work for us. Once you undermine the Left at the grass roots level, their entire edifice will inevitably collapse like a house of cards in slow motion.


30 posted on 01/26/2009 4:24:26 PM PST by Senator John Blutarski (The progress of government: republic, democracy, technocracy, bureaucracy, plutocracy, kleptocracy,)
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To: Senator John Blutarski

“Once you undermine the Left at the grass roots level, their entire edifice will inevitably collapse like a house of cards in slow motion.”

Your proposal is a sound one. The only draw back is that we work and our time is very much spoken for, so we don’t have the luxury of free hours that the left have. But, we can do it if we are truly committed.


31 posted on 01/26/2009 4:31:43 PM PST by ought-six ( Multiculturalism is national suicide, and political correctness is the cyanide capsule.)
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