Reminds me of the quote from Police Chief Stone in one of the Jesse Stone movies: “I’m not in the right and wrong business. I’m in the legal and illegal business.”
True, but that’s a political issue, not a legal one. And if you followed back to Robb Allen’s post, you’ll note that the “just” result made carrying on your property openly malum prohibitum. All due to an illegal search that was upheld in the name of justice.
The critical difference is that “legal” is pretty well defined, and a determination can be made by reference to specific criteria, available to everyone. “Just” is a matter of opinion, and opinions on what is or isn’t “justice” vary widely, depending upon age, experience, culture, education and a host of other variables.
Give me our flawed legal system any day. I’m getting too old to ensure my own brand of justice!
Vance and Zelazny are my mythwriters. I read “Have Spacesuit Will Travel” and “Podkayne of Mars”, for Battle of the Books on Chicago’s WTW, when I was twelve or so. It seems so quaint after two generations.
September 14th, 2012 at 8:02 am
Reminds me of the quote from Police Chief Stone in one of the Jesse Stone movies: “I’m not in the right and wrong business. I’m in the legal and illegal business.”
September 14th, 2012 at 8:34 am
There’s the laws that are mala in se versus those that are mala prohibita for one.
September 14th, 2012 at 9:37 am
True, but that’s a political issue, not a legal one. And if you followed back to Robb Allen’s post, you’ll note that the “just” result made carrying on your property openly malum prohibitum. All due to an illegal search that was upheld in the name of justice.
September 14th, 2012 at 10:16 am
I’ve been saying this for years.
September 14th, 2012 at 10:23 am
The critical difference is that “legal” is pretty well defined, and a determination can be made by reference to specific criteria, available to everyone. “Just” is a matter of opinion, and opinions on what is or isn’t “justice” vary widely, depending upon age, experience, culture, education and a host of other variables.
Give me our flawed legal system any day. I’m getting too old to ensure my own brand of justice!
September 14th, 2012 at 10:33 am
A good example of justice versus legal is when a person has to shoot someone in self defense.
Legal, yes.
Justice? Eh.
For example a policeman killing someone isn’t acting in the justice role even if it’s a legit, that is legal, death.
September 14th, 2012 at 11:04 am
None of you have read Heinlein? TANJ.
September 14th, 2012 at 11:50 am
TANJ is an expletive in the Known Space series of stories by Larry Niven, et al. You’re probably thinking of TANSTAAFL, popularized by RAH.
September 14th, 2012 at 3:35 pm
Stand corrected, Ian.
September 14th, 2012 at 11:21 pm
I’ve seen various sources attributing it to the character Lazarus Long, in Methuselah’s Children and/or Time Enough For Love.
I’ll try to keep an eye out for it then next time I re-read those books.
September 15th, 2012 at 3:21 am
Vance and Zelazny are my mythwriters. I read “Have Spacesuit Will Travel” and “Podkayne of Mars”, for Battle of the Books on Chicago’s WTW, when I was twelve or so. It seems so quaint after two generations.
September 15th, 2012 at 3:22 am
*WTTW*
September 15th, 2012 at 3:28 am
If anybody cares, this is the guy who came up with the line “the right to own weapons is the right to be free”. Safe.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Weapon_Shops_of_Isher