harry@ucbarpa (07/30/85)
From: harry@ucbarpa (Harry I. Rubin) Subject: Re: Liability Lawsuits Getting Out of Hand Newsgroups: net.legal,net.flame In-Reply-To: <900@sphinx.UChicago.UUCP> References: <211@pedsgd.UUCP>, <565@hou2g.UUCP> Organization: U.C. Berkeley In article <900@sphinx.UChicago.UUCP> Mitch Marks writes: > But do you >think judges and juries are passive dupes? Well, there are some jerks on the bench but I am willing to believe that most judges are pretty smart. Nevertheless, judges are often required to act in a certain way, even when it is not reasonable or not just, sometimes when it is painfully unreasonable or unjust. The laws are written to cover all cases, and the judges have to follow them. A sharp lawyer can twist the laws to force the judge to act like his puppet. As for juries, they are manipulated by judge and lawyers: they are only allowed to hear and see certain things, they are only allowed to consider certain things in reaching their decision, they are allowed to express their opinion on only certain particular aspects of the case (Judge: "I remind the jury that you are not deciding on the guilt or innocence of this man, you are deciding only whether Mr. Myxkzptlz could reasonably have known that Mrs. Myxkzptlz was in the driveway when he ran her over.") A juror interviewed after the Luis "Treefrog" Johnson case said he felt "used" by the justice system since he wasn't allowed to say whether the boy could be considered guilty, but only judge some narrow issues. Sometimes I feel sorry for jurors.