Introduction As some of the left fall all over themseves referring to the genocide in Gaza and the West Bank as a breach of international law without gaining any criticial distancing from the limitations of "the law," , the actual nature of law and its procedural acrobatics lies hidden. It is better to remind workers, … Continue reading The Real World of the Rule of Law, Part 9: The So-Called Right to Remain Silent
Category: Bourgeois law
The Real World of the Rule of Law, Part 8: So-Called Voluntary Statements Made by a Charged Person Include Many Actions that a Normal Person Would Not Define as Voluntary
Introduction As some of the left fall all over themseves referring to the genocide in Gaza and the West Bank as a breach of international law without gaining any criticial distancing from the limitations of "the law," , the actual nature of law and its procedural acrobatics lies hidden. It is better to remind workers, … Continue reading The Real World of the Rule of Law, Part 8: So-Called Voluntary Statements Made by a Charged Person Include Many Actions that a Normal Person Would Not Define as Voluntary
Referring to the Law without Qualification When Criticizing the Ruling Class Is Social-Reformist or Social-Democratic, not Socialist
Here in Toronto, Canada, and elsewhere, social democrats (such as David Bush) criticize actions (such as those of Trump) on the basis of breeches of the law. Although such breeches should be pointed out and criticized in order to expose the hypocrisy of the ruling class, socialists should always point out simultaneously the limitations of … Continue reading Referring to the Law without Qualification When Criticizing the Ruling Class Is Social-Reformist or Social-Democratic, not Socialist
The Real World of the Rule of Law, Part 7: From Citizen to Accused, and then From Citizen to Suspect with the Emergence of the Police
Introduction As some of the left fall all over themseves referring to the genocide in Gaza and the West Bank as a breach of international law without gaining any criticial distancing from the limitations of "the law," , the actual nature of law and its procedural acrobatics lies hidden. It is better to remind workers, … Continue reading The Real World of the Rule of Law, Part 7: From Citizen to Accused, and then From Citizen to Suspect with the Emergence of the Police
The Rule of Law–One Rule for Police Officers, Another Rule for Citizens
John Clarke, former major organizer for the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP), recently posted an article on the absolute discharge of a police officer who assaulted a handcuffed person. Had this been a citizen doing the same act, the person would likely have been imprisoned. But, as I have often argued in the series The … Continue reading The Rule of Law–One Rule for Police Officers, Another Rule for Citizens
Appearing to Be Humanitarian while Actually Trying to Sell the Rhetoric of the Rule of Law
John Clarke, former major organizer for the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP), posted the following recently on Facebook. (all bolded words are my emphases): The ICC prosecutor has hardly been a fearless champion of Palestinian rights but it seems that even he has a sense of which way the wind is blowing, From the ICC. … Continue reading Appearing to Be Humanitarian while Actually Trying to Sell the Rhetoric of the Rule of Law
The Real World of the Rule of Law, Part 6: The Rhetorical Right Not to Be Interrogated Once Charged Versus the Reality of the Right of Police to Interrogate
Introduction As some of the left fall all over themseves referring to the genocide in Gaza and the West Bank as a breach of international law without gaining any criticial distancing from the limitations of "the law," , the actual nature of law and its procedural acrobatics lies hidden. It is better to remind workers, … Continue reading The Real World of the Rule of Law, Part 6: The Rhetorical Right Not to Be Interrogated Once Charged Versus the Reality of the Right of Police to Interrogate
Legality Involves the Legitimation of Many Appalling Actions
John Clarke, former major organizer for the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, recently posted the following on Facebook; it expresses well the reality of the rule of law and not its rhetoric. John Clarke The real scandal isn't lawbreaking by people with political and economic power but all the appalling things they are able to do … Continue reading Legality Involves the Legitimation of Many Appalling Actions
The Real World of the Rule of Law: Courts as Oppressive Organizations, Part Five: The Rhetoric of the Need for a Warrant Versus the Reality
Introduction This is a continuation of a series that exposes the reality of courts as part of the exposure of the reality of the rule of law. The series involves quotes from the book by Doreen McBarnet (1983) Conviction: Law, the State and the Construction of Justice as well as short commentaries related to the … Continue reading The Real World of the Rule of Law: Courts as Oppressive Organizations, Part Five: The Rhetoric of the Need for a Warrant Versus the Reality
The Radical Left Should Expose the Real Nature of the Legal System in General and the Court System in Particular
John Clarke, former major organizer for the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, posted the following recently on Facebook: John Clarke When three of us in OCAP faced a jury trial over the deeply reactionary public order charges that were laid against us in regard to the so-called Queen's Park Riot, I know my co-accused considered my … Continue reading The Radical Left Should Expose the Real Nature of the Legal System in General and the Court System in Particular
The Abolitionary 