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I don’t see how Henderson’s post is appropriate, under the circumstances. This list is not comprised of disembodied brains, devoted to nothing more than abstract formalist acontextual reasoning, even if some might appear to think so. Frances has been a solid contributor to this list. I hope that she stays on the list, and I hope that she and others continue to remind us of the limits of abstract formalist acontextual reasoning, something that she does rather well, I might add.
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Folks: I'm willing to cut people slack in times of obvious and understandable emotional upset, but it's still important to note that posts such as those below, though forgivable under the circumstances, are quite inappropriate. You may have whatever views you want of fellow list members. But there is no reason to personally insult them on the list. If you're so angry that you feel you have to post something, wait until the anger goes away, and then ask whether you still want to post it.
Jim used an admittedly tragic event -- an event that he himself described as tragic -- as a means of framing a legal question and a legal argument. This is pretty much what academic lawyers and legal academics do; think back to your crim law class. The tragedy of this event, of course, is unusually fresh. Perhaps some would prefer not to use it as grist for the legal argument mill right now. On the other hand, others might find that the freshness of the event makes it especially valuable. Nothing in Jim's post remotely justifies even a harsh impersonal denunciation, much less personal insult.
Again, I realize that under these circumstances may say things that they wouldn't normally say; I therefore don't want to fault the author of the post below too much. But I do want to make clear that such posts ought not be posted.
The list custodian
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