High Court judge held for drunk driving

[Leitmotif]

Not if you look at McBride, Zuma, Yengeni, etc etc...

Pigs are more equal than other animals, it seems. The trend needs to be reversed.

 

[werner]

The judge is also human. The judge is not the law. Why should he get a stiffer sentence? Aren't we are all equal in the eyes of the law?

yes, we are.

but public figures, by their own fame/popularity/stance in the community have a greater responsibility to uphold the law.

as such, there is a big difference between me smoking a joint and mandela sharing a doobie with mbeki. in both instances, we broke the law. but as a public figure you also end up influencing others or otherwise tarnishing reputations or bringing institutions into disrepute. this demands greater punishment. (note: the argument is not: was the law broken, it is only that the law has been broken, but to what extent should the infringer be punished)

 

[Bageloo]

...but as a public figure you also end up influencing others or otherwise tarnishing reputations or bringing institutions into disrepute. this demands greater punishment.

Surely bringing an institution into disrepute should be a seperate charge which could be dealt with within the institution itself.

 

[Leitmotif]

Another consequence of werner's argument: if a public figure gets away with something then the public will believe that they should be able to do the same. Hence McBride's speeding/reckless driving/drunken driving, Zuma's rape and this judge's drunk driving/belligerence toward the police all set me on edge. Not to mention the police brutality in the news lately.

 

[werner]

and when the institute is the government, as in this case? then the government can dish out the punishment, hehe

I dont want to argue the constitution, but for the love of g_d, the guy is a judge...HE should be the moral upholder of the law, the one best placed to decide on what is right or wrong. and he abused that privilege.

 

[Bageloo]

and when the institute is the government, as in this case? then the government can dish out the punishment, hehe

I dont want to argue the constitution, but for the love of g_d, the guy is a judge...HE should be the moral upholder of the law, the one best placed to decide on what is right or wrong. and he abused that privilege.

You see Werner, I have been busted for DWI before. Very few of us really know the implications of "the legal limit". I never thought I was over that limit, such is the nature of alcohol..hehe. The only way you can be certain is if you drink only water whilst you are out partying!

 

[werner]

You see Werner, I have been busted for DWI before. Very few of us really know the implications of "the legal limit". I never thought I was over that limit, such is the nature of alcohol..hehe. The only way you can be certain is if you drink only water whilst you are out partying!

and I go out partying every friday and saturday night, religiously and drink like a irishman.
But the car stays at home, for the reasons you stated: we dont know when we are over the limit.

now, I am not mother theresa, hehehe, but it must be almost 10 years since I have had a beer anywhere and then got behind a steering wheel. you just dont know...so play it safe instead.

 

[Natas]

and I go out partying every friday and saturday night, religiously and drink like a irishman.
But the car stays at home, for the reasons you stated: we dont know when we are over the limit.

now, I am not mother theresa, hehehe, but it must be almost 10 years since I have had a beer anywhere and then got behind a steering wheel. you just dont know...so play it safe instead.

I hae represented enough people to know that driving under the influence is not wirth it....at risk of being bombarded by attacks from people who have losts loved ones to drunk drivers I will say that in my younger days I did drive drunk...but I was always (except for this one time) while over the legal limit, still abel to drive perfectly well. The law recognises that you can be over the legal limit but not intoxicated. Like that, I may have been slightly drunk, but I drove carefully, responsibly and never even came close to causing an accident. the problem with this logic is that intoxication is difficult to measure because it is subjective. its much easier to put a scientifically verifiable limit in place. its not really that fair becuase while some people can drinkone beer and be completely babooned others can drink a six pack and still do just fine operating heavy machinery.