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Why is something as basic as the description and distribution of public law not treated the same across all US states? Surely, this is one area where Federal st
by drucken 14y ago
Why is something as basic as the description and distribution of public law not treated the same across all US states? Surely, this is one area where Federal statute must apply...
I mean I've heard of "jurisdictional arbitrage" but even for the US, this is starting to be insane when it applies to the actual letters of the law!
- davidp 14y agoBecause technically[1] the US comprises 50 independent states[2]. Each is free to conduct its affairs freely except for specific powers reserved for the federal government[1]. Today people think of "the United States" as both a singular noun and a singular government, but that's not the formal legal structure. Your point is well taken, though: All laws ought to be open and freely available to the public. Anything else would be Orwellian.[3] [1] If you hold the 10th amendment and its juridical descendants to have meaning. [2] In the 18th-century sense of the word, i.e. a sovereign jurisdiction. [3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22 [4] [4] Yes, I know Orwell didn't write Catch-22.