Again, you are conflating the two points. 1) Fines are appraised for damages 2) When there are competing claims, one should favor the side with a stronger eth

Again, you are conflating the two points. 1) Fines are appraised for damages 2) When there are competing claims, one should favor the side with a stronger ethical foundation These are not equivalent. Just because #1 is true does not mean fines are appraised for ethics violations. They also don't have to be mutually exclusive. Not sure if you're trying to misdirect or just misunderstanding the distinction.