Re: Shoplifting, concealment, liability presumption

[Hyman Rosen]

On 3/10/2010 12:01 PM, Alan Mackenzie wrote:
> Results should depend only on facts, not presentation.

Results also depend on written law and case law.
Knowing this is the job of lawyers. The rules of
procedure are not hurdles meant to impede justice.
They are there to make sure that both sides have a
chance to properly present their point of view.

There is no more reason to bemoan the requirement of
expertise in law than in any other field of endeavor.

> An ordinary citizen should be able to depend on the
> expertise of the court officers.

But lawyers do more than state claims. They also do
research and fact discovery so that their claims have
a basis. Your naive notion of how legal procedure
should work cannot possibly work - anyone sued in such
a manner would anyway hire a professional to lead his
defense, who would do all the law and fact finding that
lawyers now do. A wise complainant would do the same.