Posted by
NOTLEGALROADKILLYET on Thursday, October 19, 2006 12:22:28 AM
So far, I have dealt in made up thought experiments. Let's take a real event about which I know a little, but very little. For safety sake, we will form it as a thought experiment.
Suppose a criminal filed a false lawsuit against a business. Suppose also that he knew the business had records with which it could easily defend itself. Suppose also that the criminal knew where the records were likely to be kept. Suppose that one evening there was a fire of undetermined origins in the building where the records were kept. Arson was not suspected but the building was destroyed.
So far, a perfect crime, except that the proud arsonist told a friend or friends.
He went away because the DA did not feel hampered by the fraudulent lawsuit's existance. That is likely to change after Monday.
What is going on is extremely bad public policy. It appears to me that the desire for judicial vengance trumps any interest the public might have. I made the statement that in some cases, it is better to let the miscreant walk than do something that will be regretted in the years to come. This is one.