Friday, November 13, 2009
Friday afternoon law school moment
Via Tom Kirkendall, "the easiest question for a lawyer to answer."
A bit anti-social, to be sure, but a great exposition of the tension between one's individual interest and the public at large. It is essentially never wise to speak to the police, but if nobody spoke to the police we would be in a world of hurt. Yet that is where we find ourselves, in no small part because of the profound complexity of federal criminal law, which can snare just about any person who makes consequential decisions at any time, no matter how well intended or honorable he or she may be.
Watch it -- it is much better than any TV you are likely to watch this evening -- and wait for the cop who talks in the second half of the video.
6 Comments:
By 
Bill C, at
Fri Nov 13, 04:01:00 PM:
Unfortunately, the police often are not interested in justice, they are interested in closing a case. I have several stories of myself or friends having run ins with the law where giving as little information as possible was the best course of action. This video really drives that home.
By 
, at
Fri Nov 13, 08:20:00 PM:
That cop disgusts me. He openly admitted to destroying evidence. To wit, he said he records interviews, has them transcribed, and then destroys the original audio recording. How is the defense supposed to challenge the transcription without the original recording on hand to corroborate it?
By TOF, at
Fri Nov 13, 10:35:00 PM:
It's not just the cops who view justice as a by-product. Years of observation imply to me that lawyers are not interested in justice either. I believe they regard the legal system as a set of rules under which they compete with each other.
By , at
Sat Nov 14, 08:06:00 AM:
"People are inherently honest and that's their biggest downfall..."
Interesting...
By Dawnfire82, at
Sat Nov 14, 07:39:00 PM:
By , at
Sat Nov 21, 04:30:00 AM:
Randian, the cop said he wipes the tape that was in the recorder he took into the room. It's a prop. The room has mikes and video that he doesn't touch.
