Posted by David Sherman on Thursday, January 06, 2005 at 6:51PM :
In Reply to: Bernie Goetz posted by Arthur P Bloom on Thursday, January 06, 2005 at 6:32PM :
Yes, I worked with an engineer who'd met him at Electro (trade show) in New York in '80 or so. I went in '82 and he wasn't there. It was right after the "incident", but he said Mr Goetz didn't talk about it, and was just there doing his engineering job, and he seemed like a normal guy (only "odd" in the way engineers sometimes are). The trouble with engineers is they're honest and rational, because they deal with physics which you can't fool, but that gets them in trouble with the law, which tends to be dishonest and irrational. One of the most dishonest things about the law is that you can be exhonerated of a criminal offense, and still be sued by any self-described "victim". That should be considered "double jeopardy", but instead it's just a double opportunity for lawyers to make money at your expense.
I like the conservative/Alaskan approach, but I'm afraid in Massachusetts or New Jersey or NYC, and probably a few other places (California?), the detectives and the prosecutor would be asking you all the "liberal" questions. All I can hope is that if I ever have the horrendous misfortune of having to shoot a man, it happens in my local jurisdiction and the sherriff knows both of us well and knows the recipient of the bullets had it coming.