• @hypnoton
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    7
    edit-2
    28 days ago

    200% yes.

    The reform would be extensive and require some thought. How about a hypothetical element of the reform below:

    We ban the use of the legalese so that the law is understandable to all in plain English. So that we don’t need an exclusive class of law-priests every time we encounter a legal situation.

    To go along with the above court procedures can also be simplified/streamlined.

    Basically do away with the legal elitism.

    • @HakFoo@lemmy.sdf.org
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      fedilink
      928 days ago

      I always found it fascinating how the law is such a unique and cloistered ecosystem.

      The sciences and arts encourage self-education and self-discovery. Constructive disruption is admired and moves the fields forward. Those who make it accessible and reachable are celebrated.

      I love your phrasing “law-priests”. The law is the religion in a secular state. It has all the same trappings:

      • The ranks and orders of clergy, where only they are fit to interpret the sacred scripts, with strong bias and penalty for trying to do so as an uneducated layman
      • Adherence to doctrine and continuity (precedent) even as the environment it was established in no longer exists
      • The constant urge to obfuscate and revel in exclusive language, to continue the air of mystery and impermeability.
      • An overall attitude of fear and submission encouraged by the impenetrability. Even our richest and most powerful still fear the legal system for its caprice, and attempt to ward themselves from it with sigils and charms made of contracts.

      Someone needs to nail up some theses to the door of the Supreme Court.

      • @hypnoton
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        428 days ago

        Brilliant writing! Thank you! Normally I just upvote and move on, but this is too good, please pardon my little comment here.