My good friend and former fellow student from my days at NYU, Roger Koppl, has this very nice op-ed published in today’s edition of the New York Post. Using the injustices in the recent sham "case" of rape against three members of the Duke University Lacrosse team, Roger concludes:
The time has come to free forensic science from the pressures of
prosecutorial bias. To that end, crime labs should become independent
of police and prosecutors, and public defenders should be given greater
access to forensic advice and testing. Crime labs should be
independent, operating under the supervision of an officer of the
court, who would be responsible for assigning forensic evidence to
laboratories and ensuring that all crime labs in the system are
following proper scientific procedures.
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Hey, how about a simple separation of justice and State? Like it used to be before the monarchies took over the court system to favour their rich friends? Just an idea out of left field here…
My favorite comment on the case came from one of the players saying "I am just lucky that my parents could afford to hire the best lawyers to defend me".
the law in its majesty forbids the wealthy from sleeping under bridges just as it band the poor from sleeping under bridges.
Why is it that I can not help but believe that the libertarian view of justice or freedom is that it is something that you buy? If you can not afford it it does not matter.
The law and or justice system regularly railroads innocent people, but the only time I see libertarians concerned about it is when the victims or rich white kids.
Spencer,
You are totally off base. I regularly read libertarians complaining about the injustices to average Americans caused by the Patriot Act, RICO and our drug laws.
Spencer,
My op-ed includes the following remark: "The life-altering injustices suffered by the affluent white defendants in this case are precisely the sort of injustices suffered regularly by many of America's less privileged citizens."
The policies of classcical liberalism are of most benefit the poor precisely because the poor are the most exposed to the abuses of government power. The world's poor tend to migrate from relatively illiberal countries to relatively liberal country for a reason, I think.