----- Original Message ----- From: "Erik Reuter" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Killer Bs Discussion" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, October 18, 2004 5:19 PM Subject: Re: Brin: Second Salvo
> On Mon, Oct 18, 2004 at 12:24:08PM -0500, Dan Minette wrote: > > > But, the legal system doesn't have murky lines....It can't. The > > present, > > But, no. The legal system does have murky lines. In interpretation, yes it does. I was thinking more about age lines. 1 hour before your 17th birthday, it is illegal to see an R rated movie by yourself; on your 17th birthdaty, it isn't. 1 hour before your 18th birthday, you can be arrested for buying cigarettes, on your 18th birthday you can't. 1 hour before your 21st birthday, you can be arrested for buying beer, on your 21st birthday you can't.. > Surely you have heard the phrase "beyond a reasonable doubt"? That > certainly sounds like a layman's way of talking about probability. Hmm, I was instructed differently. I was told that reasonable doubt is a doubt that "would make you hesitate in going forward with your most serious affairs, like getting married or buying a house." That was fairly understandable to me. I had to interprete it, mind you, but the description was clear. Also, from that jury experience, we got some very clear instructions of what interfering with a police officer was. We had to put some work in to determine the facts, but the law on this was clear and definite...which was very helpful. So, you are right in that I overstated my case a bit. But, in the case of having divisions between when it is legal to do something, the law (I think out of necessity) is arbitrarily precise. Dan M. _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
