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How is that different from "the law is whatever a judge says it is?" Once you have some flexibility in a logical system, it's no longer a logical system. The
by MarkPNeyer 10y ago
How is that different from "the law is whatever a judge says it is?"
Once you have some flexibility in a logical system, it's no longer a logical system.
The way it seems to work at present, we have the worst aspects of a law in vernacular (not much clarity, hard to predict outcomes) as well as laws in a formal language (sometimes there's intense ridigity that leads to conclusions nobody wants, see: minimum sentencing laws, judges saying "my hands are tied")
- h4nkoslo 10y agoIt's not. Laws are not a "logical system", nor are they designed to be. Laws are a fuzzy coordination mechanism around the exercise of power. (If you have one actor in the power structure who "goes rogue" and has a wildly differing interpretation than the consensus, they tend to get smacked down sooner or later, but there is substantial slack both within the system and over time). When it serves the interests of the government, laws are in fact specified reasonably exactly (eg building codes), but they are subject to the same intentional lacunae (try enforcing a state building code on a federal building, vs a private building rented by a federal agency). These are all descriptive statements, not normative statements.
- MarkPNeyer 10y agoThis is an amazing answer and I like this on a number of levels. You've given me a number of things to think about. Thank you.