Idiots

I'm just listening to Marian Finucane (no link yet). Marian and her panel were talking about the judiciary and of course no discussion of this topic is complete without some commentator, in this case Jim Power, talking about the "perception'' that the law comes down on the side of the criminal over the victim. Jesus H. Christ. The whole point of a trial is to determine whether or not someone is guilty of a crime and to safeguard that person constitutional rights from the mob. Guilt or innocence is not determined by "common sense", by what you read in a paper, what you hear on telly or by what "everyone knows".

Of course there is a perception that the law comes down on the side of the criminal over the victim, if every time this is talked about somebody repeats it. People then think "well if it keeps being repeated then there must be some truth to it". Not quite. It's not helped of course by Gardai leaking details of investigations to journalists, which are then quoted anonymously as an "informed source". Journalists accept what their told (at least enough to print it), without thinking that the Gardai might not be a fully disinterested or impartial source.

This perception is also very useful to politicians, "We're doing our best on crime but look it's all the judges fault, uhhh here, look at the monkey. Look at the silly monkey! I'm talking to you Micheal, I fancy myself as a libertarian but that should be authoritarian, McDowell.