Jens 'n' Frens
Idle thoughts of a relatively libertarian Republican in Cambridge, MA, and whomever he invites. Mostly political.
"A strong conviction that something must be done is the parent of many bad measures." -- Daniel Webster
Thursday, September 01, 2011 :::
Dean, I didn't send that to you, did I? My wife pointed that out to me yesterday - she has met the judge (not as a defendant), and is fond of him. Our reaction was similar to yours.
I wish the reporter had asked the defense lawyer how much money the victim of an armed robbery and an assault has to have before the armed robbery and assault start to reflect badly on the armed robbers and assaulters. Apparently, she thinks armed robbery (and did I mention assault?) is only serious if the victim is rich, presumably because rich people are more important than poor people. I think that's a sufficiently unusual point of view to justify a little more probing.
I came across it on Google News, which likely wouldn't have been the case had the victim been penniless.
I thought of the confusion between supply and demand. 7 cents is the benefit (demand) to the robber of the crime, but is a very small add-on to the cost (supply) to others. If 7 cents isn't enough of a benefit to justify having a judge ask you to bear the cost, you should seek different activity to engage in.