Date: Thu, 15 Sep 2005 13:56:07 -0400 (EDT) From: "D. Jay Newman" To: piclist@mit.edu Subject: Re: [OT]: Interesting article about US patents and Universities in > Note that all the witnesses must take an oath to tell the truth. > Yes, and we see how that works. -- And seldom are they punished for lying > The jury takes an oath to tell the truth when being questioned as > prospective jurrors. > Yes. > The lawyers (who are being paid) DO NOT TAKE an oath so lying is > allowed > in court (see the movie "Liar Liar". It's the job of a lawyer > defending > a guilty person to make up some story (lie) to try and get them off. > Actually lawyers are considered an officer of the court. If the lawyer lies, it can get them disbarred or under some circumstances even higher penalties. -- Lawyers are allowed to build a case for their client even if the client is known to be guilty by the lawyer. This is sanctioned lying. > Expert witnesses (who are being paid) show up on both sides of each > case > saying opposite things. But you don't see the loosing expert witness > getting charged with lying under oath. Note there are expert > witnesses > who no longer practice in their "expert" field, all they do is testify > in court at much higher hourly rates. > Yes, but in many fields there are multiple opinions about a given matter. And unfortunately you are right about the professional expert witnesses. -- A expert witness is not hired unless they are going to say what the hire-or wishes them to say. My belief is that they know what they are supposed say based on the position of the hire-or and that is what they say. > In any legal action the lawyers are careful to keep the case going for > as long as possible so that they can make more money. I considered > getting a law degree and the person at the school said "it's like > getting a license to steal". > That is too cynical. I know lawyers who do try to make the case as short as possible. Under most circumstances they get paid *more* if the cases are shorter (they can take more cases and a lot of the fee is in the up-front work). -- Not cynical at all. The point is that 80-90% of lawyers optimize for max income, not best outcome for client. I have seen this over and over. Yes, some laywers do this. Some engineers take money to approve under- spec projects. Some consultants make mistakes. However, not *all* lawyers, engineers, and consultants do this. -- AGSC Augustus Gustavius Salvatore Calabrese 720.222.1309 AGSC www.omegadogs.com Denver, CO and now the small print: Disclaimer: The above statements are not intended as an endorsement of any kind and any inference of having any verifiable knowledge about anything referenced above is purely coincidental. ( it is hoped ! ) If any statement above might get the author into trouble, it was not supported by the author but passed along from some mal- content as an educational experience. Alignment is with authority figures at all time; especially those with large police forces. PLEASE DON'T HURT ME ! I AM ON THE GROUND AND SUBMISSIVE. If you are not part of the solution, you are precipitate. ALL ORIGINAL COMMENTS / IDEAS / TEXT IN THIS MISSIVE ARE PUBLIC DOMAIN. USE THEM AS YOU WILL. -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist