Category Archives: law

Sometimes the system works

Posted on September 3, 2010 by Jarrah

Thank you, Premier Kristina Keneally, Opposition Leader Barry O’Farrell and Nationals leader Andrew Stoner for allowing a conscience vote in the NSW lower house on the Adoption Amendment (Same Sex Couples) Bill (No.2). Why every vote is not a conscience … Continue reading →

Posted in law | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

This dude gets it

Posted on August 6, 2010 by Jarrah

Moral disapproval alone is an improper basis on which to deny rights to gay men and lesbians. The evidence shows conclusively that Proposition 8 enacts, without reason, a private moral view that same-sex couples are inferior to opposite-sex couples… Proposition … Continue reading →

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Won’t SOMEBODY think of the ninjas?

Posted on July 15, 2010 by Jarrah

The day before Bastille Day, French symbol of justice and freedom, the French lower house overwhelmingly approved a law that is unjust and takes away freedom, banning face coverings in public places. And they have the gall to dress it … Continue reading →

Posted in law | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

Taking the Laura Norder bus, last stop Dystopia

Posted on May 23, 2010 by Jarrah

A worrying development in the United States – the Katie Sepich Enhanced DNA Collection Act of 2010 was approved by the House of Representatives. It gives money to states if they abide by certain rules, which would require anyone arrested … Continue reading →

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Just say no… to the war on drugs

Posted on May 18, 2010 by Jarrah

What would you do with $1 trillion? Don’t answer too quickly, lean back and think about it for a while. Physically, using the highest-value banknote I know of (the €500 bill that will be excluded in Britain due to its … Continue reading →

Posted in economics, international, law | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

More police = less crime

Posted on February 11, 2009 by Jarrah

The International Review of Law and Economics has published an interesting study by Ming-Jen Lin in Taiwan. Lin has tried to tease a small thread from the complex fabric of social science in order to find out if the intuitive … Continue reading →

Posted in law | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Halfway down the slippery slope

Posted on January 30, 2009 by Jarrah

California – a bastion of liberal values, right? Not if you’re a smoker.* The city of Belmont has made it illegal to smoke in your own home, if your home is an apartment. Your own home! Perhaps I was being … Continue reading →

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Should Australian judges be popularly elected?

Posted on January 24, 2009 by Jarrah

This was the question John Humphreys raised recently, arguing in favour of it. His reasoning was that the popular election of judges would generate better outcomes because the Laura Norder bias of the general public would counterbalance the incentives he … Continue reading →

Posted in law | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

Why I’m not an anarchist

Posted on December 28, 2008 by Jarrah

Anarchy literally means ‘no rulers’, as opposed to (among others) monarchy, oligarchy, plutocracy, or democracy (where kings or queens, an elite, the rich, or the public make decisions about governance). Despite what reporters, politicians, and the average person on the … Continue reading →

Posted in law | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The right rights

Posted on December 14, 2008 by Jarrah

My topic for today is human rights (see previous post), and now I want to air some ideas about the actual make-up of any bill of rights, and my thoughts and concerns about them. I’m no expert – in fact … Continue reading →

Posted in law | Tagged , , , | 12 Comments