Sunday, July 24, 2005

Common sense jurisprudence

In 2001, eleven illegal aliens died of dehydration while trying to cross the desert between Mexico and Arizona on federal land. Incredibly, family members represented by an activist lawyer filed suit against the federal government, claiming it was liable because it refused to allow an advocacy group to place water stations in the Arizona desert. On July 13, U.S. District Judge John Roll dismissed the suit, explaining that the government "owed no duty to affirmatively assist trespassers illegally crossing [federal land] in avoiding the obvious dangers of a hostile desert."

Bravo! It should be common sense that the federal (or any other) government has no moral or legal obligation to assist lawbreakers. Hopefully the decision will survive the appeals process and the inevitable fallacious claims that the verdict is "racist."

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