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We should try to minimize the number of laws that are selectively applied though, because the more there are, the more powerful random officials get.



Indeed. I had a taste of it in the -- rather benign -- boarding school I went to years ago.


Schools can be really bad on this. One college I went to charged people with "condoning" if they were aware that someone else was breaking the rules and didn't report it. I think this is actually pretty common among private colleges in the US.

Imagine how badly that would be abused if it were a law.


Well, some things can be "abetted", which is similar.


True, it is slightly similar in that you didn't directly commit the crime. Though you do have to have an active role, for example, storing the money after a bank robbery. Another one like this is "accessory after the fact." However, there again, you actually have to take an active role in helping someone you know committed a crime.

The difference with something like the "condoning" rules is that they essentially take away the right to remain silent from the 5th amendment. Of course, they can get away with it because they are just rules at a school.


screw "minimize" - any law that would be selectively enforced should (in a perfect, unattainable world) be eliminated




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