Maestro
13-08-2003, 02:24 PM
Courts: call for the valium
There are a whole series of examples on these forums of people bitching about the law and the legal system, with people rolling out gems like "the law is fucked" or "the courts are shit" or "the government is a bunch of arseholes". It seems that people, regardless of country or system, and often without resort to any reasoning at all, hate the law. That shits me right off.
It needs to be pointed out that not all law is made specifically to piss the whining masses off. I'd go so far as to say very little of it is designed to do so. In fact, people seem to be inclined to complain even when the law doesn't affect them just so that they can sustain their habit of whinging about the courts, the government and lawyers.
I am the first to admit to the following things:
New South Wales was the second most litigious state in the world during the 1990's. That means more cases per person in NSW than all but one state in the world.
Many lawyers act unethically by initiating cases like those presented by America's Stella Awards (http://www.stellaawards.com/). It happens in Australia too, as ambulance-chasers are becoming more and more common.
Politicians do not always seem to act in the best interests of the operation of the law or the people effected by the law.
Despite all of these things, I can't believe that the law really deserves all the bitching. The first step in getting people to understand that "the law is not evil" is education and discussion.
So, I want to see if some of the problems people have with the legal system can be rationalised. When the law is in the wrong, it certainly needs to be said, but first we have to hear about what it's doing to people.
So people, post your legal horror stories from your own lives, the press, your families, friends and pet animals.
There are a whole series of examples on these forums of people bitching about the law and the legal system, with people rolling out gems like "the law is fucked" or "the courts are shit" or "the government is a bunch of arseholes". It seems that people, regardless of country or system, and often without resort to any reasoning at all, hate the law. That shits me right off.
It needs to be pointed out that not all law is made specifically to piss the whining masses off. I'd go so far as to say very little of it is designed to do so. In fact, people seem to be inclined to complain even when the law doesn't affect them just so that they can sustain their habit of whinging about the courts, the government and lawyers.
I am the first to admit to the following things:
New South Wales was the second most litigious state in the world during the 1990's. That means more cases per person in NSW than all but one state in the world.
Many lawyers act unethically by initiating cases like those presented by America's Stella Awards (http://www.stellaawards.com/). It happens in Australia too, as ambulance-chasers are becoming more and more common.
Politicians do not always seem to act in the best interests of the operation of the law or the people effected by the law.
Despite all of these things, I can't believe that the law really deserves all the bitching. The first step in getting people to understand that "the law is not evil" is education and discussion.
So, I want to see if some of the problems people have with the legal system can be rationalised. When the law is in the wrong, it certainly needs to be said, but first we have to hear about what it's doing to people.
So people, post your legal horror stories from your own lives, the press, your families, friends and pet animals.