The idea of freedom as personal power has been pushed aside in recent decades by a new idea of freedom--where the focus is on the rights of whoever might disagree with a decision. There were good reasons why we went in this direction, but now the momentum has carried us to a point where we no longer feel free in daily interaction. Almost any encounter carries legal risk. Lawyers are everywhere, both literally--the proportion of lawyers in the workforce almost doubled between 1970 and 2000--and in our minds, sowing doubt into ordinary choices. Americans increasingly go through the day looking over their shoulders instead of where they want to go.
What's been lost is a coherent legal framework of right and wrong. A free society requires that people generally understand the scope of their freedoms. Without reliable legal boundaries, distrust will infect daily dealings. People start to fear each other, and they start to fear law. That's what happened in America, particularly for teachers, doctors, managers, and others with responsibility.
Philip K. Howard, Life Without Lawyers, 2009
What's been lost is a coherent legal framework of right and wrong. A free society requires that people generally understand the scope of their freedoms. Without reliable legal boundaries, distrust will infect daily dealings. People start to fear each other, and they start to fear law. That's what happened in America, particularly for teachers, doctors, managers, and others with responsibility.
Philip K. Howard, Life Without Lawyers, 2009
Criminal Lawyers
ReplyDeleteThe government is also proposing residency tests to ensure a person only qualifies for legal aid if they’ve been a resident of Britain for at least a year at some point in their life.