In the practice of law, legal professionals often encounter a myriad of statutes that elicit anything from mild bemusement to outright consternation. After all, as those at the heart of the legal sector, we occupy a unique vantage point from which to scrutinize the tangle of regulations and legal caveats that comprise our legal system. This often precipitates a question – what, in our professional perspectives, constitutes the epitome of a poorly conceived law?
This question has been broached by fellow legal professionals over at Above The Law. They cite potential nominees for the ‘worst’ law such as qualified immunity, the doctrine allowing the police to enjoy a rather extensive range of legal protections due to a scrivener’s error in the 1800s. They also highlight the controversial topic of the gun industry’s immunity laws which have done little to abate the American gun crisis.
The list encompass a whole host of other statutes and legal doctrines, from the always contentious issue of mandatory minimums, the increasingly problematic immigration laws, to the arguably outdated stipulations of the US electoral college. This compilation even extends to seemingly trivial local legislations such as the imposition of age limits on trick or treating in certain jurisdictions.
Above The Law invites its readership to contribute to the discussion over these ‘dumb laws’ via email or text, with a view to actually polling its audience on their rankings of the ‘dumbest’ law. This intriguing dialogue is part of a project by Above The Law alum and justice correspondent for The Nation magazine, which might culminate in a ‘winner’ law featuring in Elie Mystal’s upcoming book, “Bad Laws”.
This is a compelling opportunity for us, the professionals who grapple with these laws on a daily basis, to voice our opinion on the least reasonable of them. As we well know, our profession places us in a unique position to understand the realities of these laws, far beyond their theoretical implications.