> Let's say there is a law against walking your dog without a leash on .... Is it appropriate to give that person a ticket Yes, because that law was written fo

> Let's say there is a law against walking your dog without a leash on .... Is it appropriate to give that person a ticket Yes, because that law was written for the convenience of law enforcement. The law should have been "You need to be able to control your dog at all times when in public, with a leach if necessary", or indeed, not there at all: There are plenty of laws on the books that penalises behaviour that hurts other people. But enforcing that is a lot more difficult than determining the absence of a leach and writing a ticket, regardless of whatever harm or risk is present in the actual situation. You're suggesting that laws should be enforced in accordance with how they should have been written, not how they are written - and while obviously a good thing in this case, it also applies in the other direction: A policer officer might feel very strongly that beating unruly arrestees is what the law should be. Rule of law means the laws are enforced as they are written, equally for everyone, not subject to the whims of law enforcement. Making stupid laws that implicitly demands law enforcement to be arbitrary is deeply corroding to the rule of law.