>> The use of lawsuit as a mechanism suggests an inbuilt corrective: if the jurors think the litigant fails to prove harm or fails to prove the nexus of responsibility, out goes the case.
I am as uncomfortable with judges and juries making bad law as I am with legislators making bad law. There are certain rights which cannot be infringed ... by juries, legislators, judges, or executives.
>> They’ll have to craft their arguments to be overwhelmingly persuasive, not just to Mr. Meese, Dr. Reisman, and Mrs. Don-o, but to 12 jurors who will include in their midst such skeptical citizens as yourself.
The justice system was not meant as a back-door way to legislate. If they want pornography outlawed, they should take it up with legislators (state and federal congressmen and Senators) ... just as abortion-rights activists should have 35 years ago.
Judges and juries are responsible for various legislative atrocities throughout the history of this country ... Dred Scott, Roe v. Wade, Kelo v. New London (the eminent domain debacle), etc.
The courtroom is no more the place for this dispute than it is for any half-assed ACLU lawsuit (over taking God out of the pledge, the Christ out of Christmas, etc.). This is nothing more than a means to legislate through the judiciary, and it is a fundamental distortion of the American system of government.
This argument should take place in the legislature ... if you can’t win there, you can’t win.
H
Hemorrhage wrote: “The courtroom is no more the place for this dispute than it is for any half-assed ACLU lawsuit (over taking God out of the pledge, the Christ out of Christmas, etc.).”
Wrong!
First off, your comparisons are inappropriate. How are people actually harmed by the mention of God or Christ? What actual damages are done?
Secondly, if porn peddlers are causing harm to others and this harm can be proven in a court of law, they are liable.
I am convinced pornography is a great evil, and I would love to see the porn peddlers put out of business. However, I don’t think it’s going to be easy to prove damages in a court of law (unfortunately). I also agree with the other posters who say this is a states-rights issue, not a federal one.
At one time in US history, most people had enough sense to at least recognize porn for what it is...a social ill.