Jerry wrote: > On Sun, 3 Apr 2011 11:48:13 +0100 > MFPA <expires2...@ymail.com> articulated: > >> Isn't it a fairly standard maxim that "ignorance of the law is no >> defence?" > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignorantia_juris_non_excusat > > <quote> > > Ignorantia juris non excusat or ignorantia legis neminem excusat (Latin > for "ignorance of the law does not excuse" or "ignorance of the law > excuses no one") is a legal principle holding that a person who is > unaware of a law may not escape liability for violating that law merely > because he or she was unaware of its content. In the United States, > exceptions to this general rule are found in cases such as Lambert v. > California (knowledge of city ordinances) and Cheek v. United States > (willfulness requirement in U.S. federal tax crimes). > > </quote> > > See also: > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plausible_deniability > If I remember correctly, the U.S.Criminal Code is a set of volumes that takes about 4 to 5 feet of shelf space at my public library. This probably does not include the collection of Federal Regulations.
It is my understanding that for most bills passed by congress, the congressmen and senators never even read the bills, though they sometimes read the summaries prepared by their assistants. One time I got a copy of a bill because I was urged to oppose it. The bill was illegible because it was the form of a set of amendments to the existing law. So there was page after page of stuff of the form change Page xxx, line yy, change will do to will not do So it is useless to even read that without running it through some kind of text processor to do all those changes. My view is the dolts in congress do not even know what they are voting for or against. Then there are state and municipal laws and regulations. While ignorance may be no excuse, there is now way to be informed either. The turkeys that pass the laws do not even know that, and there is no way we could keep up even if we tried. -- .~. Jean-David Beyer Registered Linux User 85642. /V\ PGP-Key: 9A2FC99A Registered Machine 241939. /( )\ Shrewsbury, New Jersey http://counter.li.org ^^-^^ 20:05:01 up 31 days, 4:06, 3 users, load average: 5.14, 4.84, 4.74 _______________________________________________ Gnupg-users mailing list Gnupg-users@gnupg.org http://lists.gnupg.org/mailman/listinfo/gnupg-users
