3 ms·
> Rule of law is hard, genuinely. Rule of law is impossibly hard. The idea is that we are a government of laws, not a government of men, but someone has to de
by einhverfr 13y ago
> Rule of law is hard, genuinely.
Rule of law is impossibly hard. The idea is that we are a government of laws, not a government of men, but someone has to decide what to prosecute and so in the end at most it is a plausible fiction and rule of law ends up reducing to "rule by prosecutor."
This is one of the insidious aspects of mandatory sentencing guidelines for example is that they shift power from judges to prosecutors.
- netcan 13y agoIs it? One thing that puts what could be called inappropriate power in the hands of prosecutors is the discretionary sentencing. If you could go to jail for one year or ten for the same crime, and the prosecutor promises to ask for one if you confess and apologise, they have a lot of leverage. It makes claiming innocence punishable itself. I suppose they bypass anyway by selecting the charge/law that you are going to be prosecuted under. Hard.