Re: Popular Justice and The Rule of Law -- 1

[Justin Schwartz <jschwart@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Like Scott, I agree that popular justice has its moments. Like Leo, I
regard the rule of law as an unalloyed good--a term derived from E.P.
Thompson, in the conclusion of his brilliant and savage study of the class
rule of law in 18th century Britain (Whigs and Hunters). To say that the
rule of law does not solve all problems connected with injustice is not to
say that we have an adequate substitute for it. Least of all does it
undermine the idea of the rule of law to observe that in a class society
the disadvantaged are more likely to be subject to its rigors. That is a
condemnation of the society, not the rule of law.

(Interest advisory: I'm a law student.)

--Justin

On Fri, 23 Feb 1996, Scott Marshall wrote:

> At 06:07 PM 2/23/96 -0500, Leo wrote:
>
> >Popular justice, in which  the people' take  justice' into their
> >own hands outside of the framework of the rule of law, has a
> >history, and any serious discussion of the concept must make some
> >serious reference to that history.
>
> There are also plenty of examples of good popular justice, such as when
> Buchenwald inmates liberated themselves and excuted many of their SS
> keepers. Like any other human product of the class struggle there are good
> and bad examples, but..
>
> The implication that the rule of law resolves the bad use of justice is
> absurd. More people were excuted in the US in 1995 than in the last 30 years
> - 54 I believe. Not a one of those executed was a millionaire. One study
> estimates that 40% of African American men between the ages of 17 and 38 has
> either been in jail, on parole or some other negative contact with the
> criminal justice system.
>
> Scott
>
>
>
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