Judge: "Only an idiot drives on the sidewalk to avoid a school bus."

[angelatc]

The punishment has no relevance at all to what the person was doing. Public humiliation isn't going to teach anything to the person that taking away their license and fining them can't.

Most forms of punishment bear no relevance to the crime. We gave up having murderers become slaves to the victim's families quite a while ago, for example.

Taking away their license and fining them means they will likely lose their job and end up in even more trouble when they can't pay the fine or the rent. And as Presence pointed out, it works much better than the conventional forms of punishment.

 

[kathy88]

OMG! The judge is going to embarrass her!!!

Honestly, if this is considered cruel, we have certainly become a nation of wussies. Public humiliation is an effective form of punishment.

I agree. Our local rag publishes the court reports. You can't even go before the District justice without everyone in town reading about it. And, subsequently, talking about it very loudly in public areas.

 

[Occam's Banana]

That's sort of my point. The judgements will be rendered by anyone who wants to set up an 'official' humiliation service.

And would thus be subject to the arbitration of market forces - which is not the situation we're dealing with here.

An arbitrary, uncodified diktat was issued, subject to neither market forces nor the rule of law.

Further, it was issued under the implicit expectation that the arbitrariness of the punishment would be excused by the gratuitous foolishness of the offense.

This is why we can't have a nice justice system.

 

[specsaregood]

What is there in that for anyone who gives a damn about the rule of law (an-cap or otherwise) to be pleased about?

because ancaps don't believe in the rule of law.

 

[Occam's Banana]

because ancaps don't believe in the rule of law.

I am an anarcho-capitalist.

I believe in the rule of law.

 

[youngbuck]

Stupid lady is stupid, and I don't sympathize at all with her. How on earth did she rationalize driving on the sidewalk as an effective or legitimate circumvention of the school bus. Lol...