TheAgitator.com
Time Traveler, Revisited
Friday, August 29th, 2003A while back, co-Agitator Bryan Westhoff uploaded this post, about a weird spam email he got from a would-be time traveler seeking assistance.
Turns out, there’s an interesting and sadly disturbing story behind the message.
I practice mental health law (defense) in Massachusetts. It would not surprise me at all if this conduct somehow became the alleged basis for a petition to commit to a mental facility, and perhaps involuntarily medicate with antipsychotic drugs, on the ground that Robby Todino poses a very substantial risk of harm to himself, with “judgment so affected that he is unable to protect himself in the community” caused by a “substantial disorder of thought, mood or perception”.
My guess is that if this happens it would probably start with some kind of action to enforce the consent decree, perhaps leading to an arrest.
When I was a kid.. there was a guy in town who thought he was the sherrif. He had a cap pistol and chased imaginary bad guys in the downtown area. Most of the people in town played along as he was harmless. One day he disappeared and Dad said he had been arrested and committed. I didn’t really understand why (teenager), but Dad said the guy had had some trouble going a bit too far when the populace wasn’t as cooperative in the chase as they should have been. I have wondered ever since what the role of gov’t should be in cases where the danger to the public isn’t clear cut. I guess we have to rely at some point on the judgment of the legal system… and thank God it isn’t up to politicians
Dear Radley,
If you are a supporter of the Iranian people, unite with other bloggers around the world and join the BLOG-IRAN grassroots campaign. If you are interested please visit http://www.activistchat.com/blogiran/
We hope to hear from you!
In Unity & Struggle,
Haleh
activistchat.com
Eric –
I would agree with you, but for the fact that (1) it is politicians who enact these laws, (2) it is politicians who appoint the members of the judiciary, often from their own ranks, or from the ranks of those who are known to think like them, and (3) perhaps most importantly, in all or most states the constitutional “guaranties” of a right to a jury are narrowly construed to apply only to matters which were decided by juries at the time the constitutions were adopted. For this reason, no one facing a mental health commitment, an “abuse prevention” restraining order, a worker compensation claim, etc. etc. has a jury trial.
Eric –
I would agree with you, but for the fact that (1) it is politicians who enact these laws, (2) it is politicians who appoint the members of the judiciary, often from their own ranks, or from the ranks of those who are known to think like them, and (3) perhaps most importantly, in all or most states the constitutional “guaranties” of a right to a jury are narrowly construed to apply only to matters which were decided by juries at the time the constitutions were adopted. For this reason, no one facing a mental health commitment, an “abuse prevention” restraining order, a worker compensation claim, etc. etc. has a jury trial.