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by blackwater 10/08/2014, 1:18am PDT |
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A really interesting (and somewhat unflattering) comparison of medieval european law with modern US law.
from http://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/fss_papers/543/
"In this essay I shall address the modem American system of plea bargaining from a perspective that must appear bizarre, although I hope to persuade you that it is illuminating. I am going to contrast plea bargaining with the medieval European law of torture. My thesis is that there are remarkable parallels in origin, in function, and even in specific points of doctrine, between the law of torture and the law of plea bargaining. I shall suggest that these parallels expose important truths about how criminal justice systems respond when their trial procedures fall into deep disorder."
A pretty good reminder that 99% of cases never see a trial, and of the enormous power that prosecutors have these days. Elliot Spitzer was a big fucking deal in NYC, much bigger than most judges. You would have to be a real gambler to take most cases to trial these days. |
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