Maryland task force proposes “tech courts”
from the your-objection-to-the-lightspeed-limit-is-overruled dept.
Found on Slashdot: A Maryland legislative task force has proposed the creation of "a special court for high-technology cases." The New York Times story does not mention Arthur Kantrowitz's 1967 proposal of what came to be called science courts (a concept advanced in Engines of Creation as "fact forums").
September 13th, 2000 at 7:21 PM
Who runs them
We have to be careful, though, about who runs these courts. I certainly wouldn't want a former RIAA or MPAA lawyer as a judge in a tech court. Then again, the corpoRATes (<– not a subliminal message ;->) are going to get made at the politicians if they appoint judges that favor the Constitution (esp. in respect to the First Amendment), and politicians don't like their backers to be upset. Ahh, even the best of ideas can't escape the corruption of government.
September 14th, 2000 at 6:14 AM
Science Court Again
This proposal seems to reappear at approximately ten year intervals. The biggest problem is that law and science exist for different purposes: Science is about knowledge, while law is about peacefully settling disputes even when there is no "right" answer. The two mix badly, but I have real doubts that a Science Court would help. Though it does have a cool Planet Krypton kind of sound to it….
September 14th, 2000 at 3:41 PM
here come the judge
We have tax courts, traffic courts, family courts and so on. Why not a technology court?
It would not necessarily be a "fact forum." Its mission would probably not be to enshrine particular scientific theories as legal precedents. It would just be a court, presumably presided over by a technically-trained judge, and practiced in by technically-trained lawyers, that specialized in cases involving technical issues. The only precedents it might set might be those related to procedure or rules of evidence.
Makes sense to me.
September 14th, 2000 at 6:28 PM
Re:here come the judge
I think it is a great idea! We could use a science court right now to solve the needless delays over Embryonic stem cell research. I mean come on..the "embryo-activists argue that an embryo is a life.. I believe the truth would shine through if we had a science court to rule on this unfortunate contreversy.