"Laws should not be rigid or fixed. Instead, they should be flexible enough to take account of various circumstances, times, and places."
The perception that laws are rigid and fixed is a misunderstanding. While a stand-alone sentence from a law book may give this impression, the reality is the law book contains many other sentences to clarify what types of verdicts one should arrive at. Furthermore, lawyers, judges, juries and parole boards all are involved in the dissemination of law. As such, the various circumstances, times and places are taken into consideration when verdicts are delivered.
As an example I would like to draw attention to the rather unpleasant subject of infanticide and how such cases may progress through the criminal justice system. Once the case has been brought forward, by the community or family members, to the police, the person who killed the baby would be assessed on the state of mental health. With an assessment report now on file that would have been read by the lawyers for the crown and the defense an argument would be presented to a judge. (I shall exclude the discussion of jury and parole involvement on this issue.) Between these three players information would be evaluated based on reports from police and the evaluating psychologist/ psychiatrist. Should the state of the woman's mental health account for her actions the judgment will be less severe than if no mental abnormalities are found. As such, the law is flexible according to the circumstances.
In regard to times and places and legal flexibility, I shall use the example of those individuals who found themselves stranded in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. Many people were forced to do things that they would not do under normal circumstances, such as looting stores. Now, I would like to add that the looting of stores for non essential items is a matter for another essay. This discussion will focus on looting of items such as food stuffs and other life sustaining supplies. In the such a case, the law makes a stand and that stand is interpreted by the filters of the interpretation of lawyers and judges.
In conclusion, the law stands to be interpreted by those who are involved in its dispensation. These individuals do take time, place and circumstances into consideration when making these important decisions. As such, the law is flexible and takes into account the various circumstances, times, and places that transgression of the law were committed.
The perception that laws are rigid and fixed is a misunderstanding. While a stand-alone sentence from a law book may give this impression, the reality is the law book contains many other sentences to clarify what types of verdicts one should arrive at. Furthermore, lawyers, judges, juries and parole boards all are involved in the dissemination of law. As such, the various circumstances, times and places are taken into consideration when verdicts are delivered.
As an example I would like to draw attention to the rather unpleasant subject of infanticide and how such cases may progress through the criminal justice system. Once the case has been brought forward, by the community or family members, to the police, the person who killed the baby would be assessed on the state of mental health. With an assessment report now on file that would have been read by the lawyers for the crown and the defense an argument would be presented to a judge. (I shall exclude the discussion of jury and parole involvement on this issue.) Between these three players information would be evaluated based on reports from police and the evaluating psychologist/ psychiatrist. Should the state of the woman's mental health account for her actions the judgment will be less severe than if no mental abnormalities are found. As such, the law is flexible according to the circumstances.
In regard to times and places and legal flexibility, I shall use the example of those individuals who found themselves stranded in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. Many people were forced to do things that they would not do under normal circumstances, such as looting stores. Now, I would like to add that the looting of stores for non essential items is a matter for another essay. This discussion will focus on looting of items such as food stuffs and other life sustaining supplies. In the such a case, the law makes a stand and that stand is interpreted by the filters of the interpretation of lawyers and judges.
In conclusion, the law stands to be interpreted by those who are involved in its dispensation. These individuals do take time, place and circumstances into consideration when making these important decisions. As such, the law is flexible and takes into account the various circumstances, times, and places that transgression of the law were committed.
