[Modernman]

We need to rid ourselves of the judges and lawyers. A society does not need professional liars and the judges could be replaced by election like mayors and councilmen.

I propose we do the same thing for doctors and engineers. Who needs professional licensing of any sort? Let's allow high school drop-outs to be neurosurgeons. Great idea!

Rewrite the laws to make them understandable by laymen

If you can write a bankruptcy or securities law that can be understood by a layman and still work, I'll eat my hat.

The system of precedence and review of laws is out of date, and probably is anathema to a free society.

You don't like common law? Move to France.

[SedVictaCatoni]

If you can write a bankruptcy or securities law that can be understood by a layman and still work, I'll eat my hat.

There is a word for religious law which is clumsily stretched to cover the gamut of modern circumstances - sharia.

[general_re]

You don't like common law? Move to France.

That Napoleonic Code is still too complicated and hard to understand. I propose we revive the Code of Hammurabi to govern our affairs here. Doesn't this sound much simpler?

If any one bring an accusation against a man, and the accused go to the river and leap into the river, if he sink in the river his accuser shall take possession of his house. But if the river prove that the accused is not guilty, and he escape unhurt, then he who had brought the accusation shall be put to death, while he who leaped into the river shall take possession of the house that had belonged to his accuser.

If fire break out in a house, and some one who comes to put it out cast his eye upon the property of the owner of the house, and take the property of the master of the house, he shall be thrown into that self-same fire.

If a man let in the water, and the water overflow the plantation of his neighbor, he shall pay ten gur of corn for every ten gan of land.

Securities law? No problem:

If a merchant entrust money to an agent (broker) for some investment, and the broker suffer a loss in the place to which he goes, he shall make good the capital to the merchant.
If, while on the journey, an enemy take away from him anything that he had, the broker shall swear by God and be free of obligation.
If a merchant give an agent corn, wool, oil, or any other goods to transport, the agent shall give a receipt for the amount, and compensate the merchant therefor. Then he shall obtain a receipt form the merchant for the money that he gives the merchant.
If the agent is careless, and does not take a receipt for the money which he gave the merchant, he can not consider the unreceipted money as his own.
If the agent accept money from the merchant, but have a quarrel with the merchant (denying the receipt), then shall the merchant swear before God and witnesses that he has given this money to the agent, and the agent shall pay him three times the sum.
If the merchant cheat the agent, in that as the latter has returned to him all that had been given him, but the merchant denies the receipt of what had been returned to him, then shall this agent convict the merchant before God and the judges, and if he still deny receiving what the agent had given him shall pay six times the sum to the agent.

Take that, SEC ;)

[jeremiah]

Any high school graduate can write a law that is easy to understand, only a lawyer can so confuse the language as to need another lawyer to interpret it.

[an amused spectator]

I propose we do the same thing for doctors and engineers.

Lawyers and judges are professional actors who are in it because the pay and power are better than the crapshoot that is "amateur" acting.

Lawyers don't perform heart surgery, nor do they build bridges. It's too much work, and responsibility. :-)

[an amused spectator]

If you can write a bankruptcy or securities law that can be understood by a layman and still work, I'll eat my hat.

This one's TOO easy.

[Kretek]

You don't like common law? Move to France.

Wouldn't Louisiana do?