The Single Dumbest Thing I Have Read at The Atlantic
Sullivan's on vacation, so he appears to have allowed a lazy college student to fill in for him. The gist of this imbecilic piece defends scalia's recent dissent in the Court' s order of review in a death penalty case in which the state's witnesses have recanted. Scalia stated that the defendant got a fair trial, and that's the end of it, so he's guilty.
Which, yes, certainly sounds like a terrible thing to say. But is this a crazy view? I'm not a lawyer and can't speak to whether the court has "never held" what Scalia says, or whether Davis actually had a "full and fair trial." I hope neither of these things is true. But if they are true, why would it be so surprising? Procedural rights (like the right to a lawyer or the right to avoid self incrimination) do not guarantee a specific outcome (like the correct decision in a case). It is possible to imagine a fair trial that respects everyone's rights but nonetheless reaches the wrong conclusion.
I think procedural rights are useful in large part because they prop up substantive considerations that our society values -- like guilt or innocence when guilt or innocence is deserved. But an alternate view of procedural rights -- or a view that says, simply, that it's not the role of the Supreme Court to decide these things -- doesn't seem like it's molded out of unalloyed craziness.
Yes, it is a crazy view. These procedural rules are supported by a substantive guarantee against cruel and unusual punishment in the document that the Court is supposed to construe. So in this warped view of the world, if all the boxes are checked and it comes out later that you're innocent--you die. But hey--you're not a lawyer; have done no research and omitted any reference to the main constitutional provision that might have something to say about your theory. Why, precisely, is this person qualified in ANY respect to opine on these issues?
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I just blogged on this decision but Rumpole, I never saw this one. It not only is illogical but badly written. hahaha
August 18, 2009 3:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
Is this the guy who is being given a second chance 'cuz he screwed up the last time he 'sat in' for Andrew?
August 18, 2009 3:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
When I read your title, I thought for sure it would be something by Megan McArdle. Looks like the Atlantic is really trying to cover all bases by having shitty non-economists comment on economics and shitty non-lawyers comment on the law.
August 18, 2009 4:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
Beat me to it, I was ready with my:
Have you even read Megan Mcardle?
August 18, 2009 5:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
"The Mercy Seat" by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zc4q4sm5u5U
It began when they come took me from my home
And put me in Dead Row,
Of which I am nearly wholly innocent, you know.
And I'll say it again
I..am..not..afraid..to..die.
I began to warm and chill
To objects and their fields,
A ragged cup, a twisted mop
The face of Jesus in my soup
Those sinister dinner meals
The meal trolley's wicked wheels
A hooked bone rising from my food
All things either good or ungood.
And the mercy seat is waiting
And I think my head is burning
And in a way I'm yearning
To be done with all this measuring of truth.
An eye for an eye
A tooth for a tooth
And anyway I told the truth
And I'm not afraid to die.
Interpret signs and catalogue
A blackened tooth, a scarlet fog.
The walls are bad. Black. Bottom kind.
They are sick breath at my hind
They are sick breath at my hind
They are sick breath at my hind
They are sick breath gathering at my hind
I hear stories from the chamber
How Christ was born into a manger
And like some ragged stranger
Died upon the cross
And might I say it seems so fitting in its way
He was a carpenter by trade
Or at least that's what I'm told
Like my good hand I
tatooed E.V.I.L. across it's brother's fist
That filthy five! They did nothing to challenge or resist.
In Heaven His throne is made of gold
The ark of his Testament is stowed
A throne from which I'm told
All history does unfold.
Down here it's made of wood and wire
And my body is on fire
And God is never far away.
Into the mercy seat I climb
My head is shaved, my head is wired
And like a moth that tries
To enter the bright eye
I go shuffling out of life
Just to hide in death awhile
And anyway I never lied.
My kill-hand is called E.V.I.L.
Wears a wedding band that's G.O.O.D.
`Tis a long-suffering shackle
Collaring all that rebel blood.
And the mercy seat is waiting
And I think my head is burning
And in a way I'm yearning
To be done with all this measuring of truth.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth
And anyway I told the truth
And I'm not afraid to die.
And the mercy seat is burning
And I think my head is glowing
And in a way I'm hoping
To be done with all this weighing up of truth.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth
And I've got nothing left to lose
And I'm not afraid to die.
And the mercy seat is glowing
And I think my head is smoking
And in a way I'm hoping
To be done with all this looks of disbelief.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth
And anyway there was no proof
Nor a motive why.
And the mercy seat is smoking
And I think my head is melting
And in a way I'm helping
To be done with all this twisted of the truth.
A lie for a lie
And a truth for a truth
And I've got nothing left to lose
And I'm not afraid to die.
And the mercy seat is melting
And I think my blood is boiling
And in a way I'm spoiling
All the fun with all this truth and consequence.
An eye for an eye
And a truth for a truth
And anyway I told the truth
And I'm not afraid to die.
And the mercy seat is waiting
And I think my head is burning
And in a way I'm yearning
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
A life for a life
And a truth for a truth
And anyway there was no proof
But I'm not afraid to tell a lie.
And the mercy seat is waiting
And I think my head is burning
And in a way I'm yearning
To be done with all this measuring of truth.
An eye for an eye
And a truth for a truth
And anyway I told the truth
But I'm afraid I told a lie.
August 18, 2009 5:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
The lazy college kids are at the beach insuring dermatologists in 2030 have plenty of skin cancers to deal with. This must have been written by a lazy Republican.
August 18, 2009 6:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hey, maybe it's Sullivan using a pseudonym!
August 18, 2009 9:11 PM | Reply | Permalink