In our Blog posting, “The Supreme Court Says No Fair Tipping Off the Cops” from October 24 last year, we were swayed by news articles we read online and compelled to speak up. Since then, an important clarification has been issued in an article at PoliceMag.com entitled, “Beware of False Headlines“.
If you have read our blog entry, you MUST read the article at PoliceMag.com. Our perception of news is shaped by what we read as well as what we know.
This article makes the point that when the Supreme Court refuses to hear a case, it is not an indication of opinion about the case itself. It is more accurately an indication of how important this case is next to the other 8,000 cases they are being asked to consider!
They are going to consider around 80 of these cases total. So, if you ever think you are going to “take it all the way to the Supreme Court”, your case had better have some pretty compelling national implications. It will be in a pile with thousands of other cases which probably have greater impact on more lives than yours.
We’ll own up. We’ve been swayed. News stories come around every year pointing out this case and that case which ‘shockingly’ aren’t going to be heard by the Supreme Court. Without understanding the basic numbers involved, refusal to hear a case can sound like a decision. It is a ‘news story’ you will hear again and again with different cases. Remember, the cases that are real news are the ones that Will be considered!
Other than that, we were pretty right on with the rest of the stuff in that blog entry. Some of those guys on the Supreme Court have been around since before there were laws against drunk driving. And yes, you really should tip off the cops when you see a drunk driver! Don’t be like some of the people on our DUI Videos page. Can you believe we just added a fifth video in our “Follow the Drunk” series?
Recent Comments