Stossel
Legal Mess
S6 E27 Jul 23, 2015 60m TV-PG
I explain why our legal system is a mess. We have a live audience.
WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS: Now that DNA evidence is more available, we know that lots of people are locked up for things they didn't do. I talk to an audience member who served 16 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit.
EYEWITNESS EXAM: Are eyewitness reports actually reliable? Probably not. I secretly have an intern steal something from my desk. Will the audience properly identify the "thief?"
STUPID LAWS: One reason our legal system is such a mess is because politicians don't think they're doing their job unless they're passing more laws! Philadelphia requires bloggers to purchase a $400 license. Milwaukee says you need a license to go out of business.
UBER TAKEDOWN: Because ridesharing services like Uber are better, they are destroying the taxi monopoly. That makes the taxi business and their friends in government angry.
WACKY WARNING LABELS: Companies are so afraid of lawsuits they routinely include absurd labels: a bag of frozen catfish pieces warns: "Contains fish." A toy that looks like the Easter Bunny warns: "This toy is in no way intended to represent living people." It doesn't protect them. It doesn't protect us, either. The Stossel audience picks the $1000 winner of the Wacky Warning Label Contest.
MY TAKE: Lawyers can help you make things right! But lawyers rarely mention the nasty unintended side-effects of their lawsuits: we all pay more for everything, we all drown in stupid law, and we're deprived of good things.
WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS: Now that DNA evidence is more available, we know that lots of people are locked up for things they didn't do. I talk to an audience member who served 16 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit.
EYEWITNESS EXAM: Are eyewitness reports actually reliable? Probably not. I secretly have an intern steal something from my desk. Will the audience properly identify the "thief?"
STUPID LAWS: One reason our legal system is such a mess is because politicians don't think they're doing their job unless they're passing more laws! Philadelphia requires bloggers to purchase a $400 license. Milwaukee says you need a license to go out of business.
UBER TAKEDOWN: Because ridesharing services like Uber are better, they are destroying the taxi monopoly. That makes the taxi business and their friends in government angry.
WACKY WARNING LABELS: Companies are so afraid of lawsuits they routinely include absurd labels: a bag of frozen catfish pieces warns: "Contains fish." A toy that looks like the Easter Bunny warns: "This toy is in no way intended to represent living people." It doesn't protect them. It doesn't protect us, either. The Stossel audience picks the $1000 winner of the Wacky Warning Label Contest.
MY TAKE: Lawyers can help you make things right! But lawyers rarely mention the nasty unintended side-effects of their lawsuits: we all pay more for everything, we all drown in stupid law, and we're deprived of good things.
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