<a href=“http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/07/22/charges.dismissed.ap/index.html”>http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/07/22/charges.dismissed.ap/index.html</a>
I just came here to post about this!!! It’s crazy!
All the court had to do was to go to a major university and ask for lists of students or faculty from the region in Africa and offer to pay them a little bit.
I can’t believe it!
Well, they did have their chance and 3 years is too long to wait for justice guilty or not.
Cripes.
You have the right to a speedy trial. Waiting through 3 years of hell does not seem speedy to me, for either side. Innocent until proven guilty. These rights, such as to have a speedy trial and due process, are there for the falsely accused. The failure here is the prosecution’s failure.
The justice system (both civil and criminal) is all about the game. The justice system is a game with very complex rules. The prosecution and defense are the opposing players. All players try to play the game to their own advantage.
It is just that, a game. It is not about justice. It is not about finding out what is right or reaching the most obvious or logical conclusion. It is all about the game.
In this particular case it appears the defense played the game particularly well for his client.
Justice to the layperson is about what is right and wrong. Justice to the legal professionals is all about the game - right and wrong have nothing to do with it.
Well said, John.
For some reason this article makes me laugh.
Probably not. For informal communication, yes. For legal communication, the translator probably needs some sort of certification. A random student may make mistakes that end in providing the defendant the wrong information, which could lead to a mistrial or dropping of the case.
I’ve learned this from being around lots of deaf people. One level of translation is sufficient for most stuff, but if it’s communication from a doctor (medical info), lawyer, or in teaching, the certification level must be higher. And the translators tend to get carpal tunnel or other repetitive-use problems.
I was going to say that. There was an issue here in London a couple of years back in a hospital when they needed a translator in the middle of the night. They found a janitor who was fluent in Klingon (Or whatever language it was, I don’t remember.) but his English was not up to par. This led to some serious miscommunication between the patient and doctor.
wait, klingon? that’s not even a real language. how could you even survive in the modern world without a real language?
When I was on the plane to Budapest from Copenhagen I sat next to this guy who was going to an Esperanto convention. Apparently, he’d been speaking it for three years. Imagine that!