Verified Document

Freedom Of Speech Although Judges Term Paper

From the 1938 Restatement of Torts: An activity is ultrahazardous if it (a) necessarily involves a risk of serious harm to the person, land or chattels of others which cannot be eliminated by the exercise of the utmost care, and (b) is not a matter of common usage. (p. 896)

Differences can and do exist and even though they are difficult to articulate in words, it does not mean they should be ignored. The courts and juries are left to make distinctions among such words as "slight" negligence, negligence, "gross" negligence and recklessness. In other words, "distinctions are recognized in the law even though the distinctions cannot, in any very helpful sense, be adequately articulated" (p. 902).

Once distinctions are made in several prior cases, later cases that align with these cases can be decided in the same fashion. The judge can notify the jury members that in past cases "slight" negligence meant driving at 35 miles per hour and negligence meant driving at 60 miles per hour. The jury members thus have a criterium on which to base their determination.

Vagueness, Christie concludes, is a necessity. First, because it is too difficult to clearly articulate all situations. Second, and more important, because flexibility is necessary in law. He does have one caveat:

there are some jobs which our linguistic tools, partly even because of vagueness, cannot completely perform without the adi of other communicaiton devices. The error to be avoided here, it has been submitted, is that of assuming that because general rules cannot do it alone the job cannot be done, or is not worth doing. That would be an error of the first magnitude. (p.911)

It is difficult to find fault with Christie when he discusses the problem with trying to clarify every law in specific...

It would be virtually impossible to try to cover all bases. There has to be room for interpretation. Also, there has to be some flexibility. That is one of the strengths, and weaknesses (depending on the situation and who is involved) with American law. For example, trying to specifically define pornography is too difficult. The vagueness of the term has to be decided case by judgment.
However, I have other personal concerns. One of them is clearly stated by Christie. A decision should not be put aside because it can not be articulated or sides cannot agree. This, unfortunately, does happen.

Another concern is that society and the distinctions made are continually changing. A jury can look back on how 60 miles per hour was considered negligence, but have to keep in mind that cars go much faster and roads are much better. Some people live in the past and cannot accept change.

Lastly, with Christie's approach people have to trust in the jury and/or judges decisions. Many of us would rather our future life not be left up to the arbitrary decision of some judge or jury members who most likely have their own personal beliefs involved in their decisions. A newspaper I read last week said that a man who killed eight puppies should have 30 years in jail, while another man plea bargained for five years in jail for rape. This vagueness is hard to handle.

If not specific word-for-word, laws have to be as narrowly defined as possible to rule out arbitrariness. Laws are valuable human institutions inasmuch as they provide predictable regularity, delimit in a clear and understandable way the boundaries of permissible behavior.

Reference

Christie, George C. (1964). Vagueness and legal language" 48 Minnesota Law Review 885: 885-911.

Sources used in this document:
Reference

Christie, George C. (1964). Vagueness and legal language" 48 Minnesota Law Review 885: 885-911.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Graduation Speech Why Should I
Words: 1609 Length: 5 Document Type: Essay

I have been volunteering lately with a church called Rod of God Ministries. I asked the Rod of God what they needed from me and they responded frankly with some embarrassment. "We need someone to clean our toilets." At first I thought the man was joking. Surely he took one look at me and did not see me with a toothbrush scrubbing toilet bowls. When he did not laugh, I knew

Arguments for Limiting Free Speech
Words: 623 Length: 2 Document Type: Term Paper

limiting free speech ID: 53711 The arguments most often used for limiting freedom of speech include national security, protecting the public from disrupting influences at home, and protecting the public against such things as pornography. Of the three most often given reasons for limiting freedom of speech, national security may well be the most used. President after president, regardless of party has used national security as a reason to not answer

Hate Speech Constitutionality of Hate-Speech Laws and
Words: 4316 Length: 10 Document Type: Term Paper

Hate Speech Constitutionality of hate-speech laws and legislation College campus hate-speech codes, Fighting words; hate symbols State interest in regulating hate-speech, Arguments for and against such laws and codes, First Amendment protection of unpopular or offensive speech, Sentence enhancement for bias motivated crimes, Supreme Court handling of hate speech and hate crime issues Constitutionality of hate-speech laws and legislation The Constitution of the United States was drafted in 1787, ratified in 1788, and put into operation in 1789. The 10

Hate Speech Many People Decry
Words: 549 Length: 2 Document Type: Term Paper

The difference comes when the person, whether or not incited by hate speech, does more than just talk, but takes the hatred a bit further and commits a criminal act, such as an attack upon a person or a place simply because it is associated with some group the attacker does not tolerate. So hate speech and hate crime are not equivalent and as such hate speech is protected

Plato Aristotle Pericles Although the
Words: 1924 Length: 6 Document Type: Term Paper

This is Aristotle's launching pad for his discussion of politics. To him, ethics and politics are matters of rational judgment, stemming from the natural inclinations of individual humans. This notion is reflected in Aristotle's analysis of the constitutional doctrines of some 158 cities. Essentially, he recognized that every state -- necessarily city states -- exist in unique sets of circumstances that act upon the universal forms of ethics in ways

Counter-Terrorism and Social Media: Freedom Vs. Security
Words: 5692 Length: 20 Document Type: Essay

Counter-Terrorism and Social Media: Freedom vs. Security The United States prides itself to being the most democratic nation of the world, with the highest respect for the human being, for its values, norms, and dreams. At the same time, before 9/11, it was also considered to be one of the safest nations of the world. The attacks on the World Trade Center towers, in particular pointed out that there are gaps

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now