by Matthew Bransgrove | Jul 16, 2015 | The Rule of Law
Crimes will be less frequent in proportion as the code of laws is more universally read and understood. —Cesare Beccaria. Of Crimes and Punishments, 1764. The whole body of statute law should follow a theme which makes finding the law intuitive. To this end the people...
by Matthew Bransgrove | Jul 16, 2015 | The Rule of Law
Laws are made for men of ordinary understanding, and should, therefore, be construed by the ordinary rules of common sense. Their meaning is not to be sought for in metaphysical subtleties, which may make anything mean everything or nothing, at pleasure. —Thomas...
by Matthew Bransgrove | Jul 16, 2015 | The Rule of Law
Laws should be clearly written so they are capable of only one interpretation. Ambiguities should be removed where they prove persistent or force judges into contortions destructive of the principle of literal statutory interpretation.
by Matthew Bransgrove | Jul 16, 2015 | The Rule of Law
Laws should be drafted so they can serve for extended periods. Settled laws, which have been bedded down by a body of case law, should not be lightly altered. Every time the law is altered, the long-term planning of lives and businesses is disrupted. It can take...
by Matthew Bransgrove | Jul 16, 2015 | The Rule of Law
The sentiment that ex post facto laws are against natural rights is so strong in the United States, that few, if any, of the State constitutions have failed to proscribe them. The federal constitution indeed interdicts them in criminal cases only; but they are equally...
by Matthew Bransgrove | Jul 16, 2015 | The Rule of Law
For all the power the Government has being only for the good of society, as it ought not to be arbitrary and at pleasure, so it ought to be exercised by established and promulgated laws; that both the people may know their duty, and be safe and secure within the...
