THE GAINESVILLE SUN


This is about an article by Gainesville Sun newspaper reporter Ray Washington, the purpose of which is to discredit my legal reform efforts through personal ridicule and disinformation.

The issue is best understood by contrasting his article with another article published about my web site in the May, 1997, issue of the Australian Humanist Magazine (email ingroup@vicnet.net.au) as follows:

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THE EDITOR'S VIEW

LAW AS A SCIENCE

by JAMES GERRAND

I must thank Bob Allston of Florida USA for triggering my writing on this important subject. He sent a message on the Internet to NSW member Vic Bien asking for comments on "whether the discipline of law should be considered a science from the discipline of humanism". Vic passed on the message to eight Aus-tralian Humanists with e-mail addresses. Here is my response.

I give an emphatic YES. Australia has gone some way to treating law scientifically and humanism has played a significant role in this approach.

LIONEL MURPHY, when Australian Attorney-General 1972-6, made fundamental changes to the Australian legal system. In particular he introduced the no-fault basis for divorce and civil celebrants as a choice to ministers of religion for the legal effection of marriage. As well he reformed trade practices, legal aid and racial discrimination.

For these and other humanist acts, furthering a better society, Lionel Mur-phy was awarded the first Australian Humanist of the Year (1983).

I find it very significant that Lionel Murphy's first degree was that of Bachelor of Science. The coupling of BSc with LlB has now become more common but still the path for most Australian lawyers is to start with a Bachelor of Arts.

I believe Lionel's grounding in science helped him immeasurably in "seeking the evidence" rather than relying on dogma whether coming from religion or from encrusted legal tradition. This science training would also have given Lionel an understanding of the technological society in which we live. Many legal cases now rely on scientific evidence such as forensic in the criminal, psychological in sentencing, economic in the business area.

GARETH EVANS, Australian Attorney General 1983-4, Minister for Foreign Affairs 1988-95, an atheist since boyhood, was awarded the 1990 Australian Humanist of the Year. An outstanding scholar and lawyer, Gareth could be relied on to promote humanist objectives such as when he "pursued a peaceful resolution of the determination of a democratic government of Cambodia".

As author Pat Duffy Hutcheon clearly argued in "Leaving the Cave" (review "AH"Nov'96) only a scientifically informed society will be able to solve our mounting global problems - environmental degradation, overpopulation, ethnic conflict. But with only some 6% scientifically literate in Australia, the UK and the USA there is a massive need for scientific education starting at the kindergarten level.

Bob Allston has a Home Page on the Internet (http://www.afn.org/~afn54735/) presenting his arguments for "ACTIVISM for LEGAL REFORM" in Florida. He states that its "legal system ... has degenerated to the point where except for the rich the majority of Floridians are LOCKED OUT". Sounds familiar. "The legal system ... channels citizens into the homeless, crime, drugs and the militia ..." Australia seems to be going this way under economic rationalism.

"The knowledge base to design, implement and operate a functional legal system capable of meeting the varied and complex requirements of human nature ... has shifted ... from the discipline of law ... to the SCIENCES". A number of Australian States, particularly NSW and Victoria, have set up Law Reform Committees which have achieved some successes in making the law more rational and meeting modern needs such as rewriting laws in plain English. Unfortunately the conservative governments now in power are busily disbanding or emasculating these Reform Committees.

Bob proposes to fund the changeover to legal system based on a multidisciplinary approach from cutbacks or elimination. "For example, ... all or part of the projected (indeed grotesque) build-up of 76,000 more Florida PRISON BEDS over the next ten years should be unnecessary ... 76,000 beds is double the student population of the University of Florida ..." The Victorian govern-ment is busily building private prisons to the same crazy legal system drum-beat.

Humanism with its aim (Victorian Humanist Society) of "fostering a scientific approach to solving our human problems" should be in the forefront of emphasising the importance of science. Australian Humanists at their 1990 Convention did resolve as one of seven priority aims "to work towards achieving by the year 2000 that at least 50% of the Australian population be scientifically literate."

The paradoxial problem of making a society scientifically literate is that whilst wise decisions do depend on a scientific assessment of the relevant facts, politicians and many in authority prefer people who "toe the line" rather than those who will make their own decisions from the evidence.

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Now to discuss the article by Ray Washington of the Gainesville Sun. Although he had a copy of the Australian article when he wrote his article, you will find it is totally different in nature. For, whereas the first article is clearly a serious article addressing the substance of this serious subject as set forth in my home page; Mr. Washington's article is anything but.

For, while the Australian article discusses numerous reform issues, saying nothing at all about me, Mr. Washington's article is just the opposite; it says nothing at all about all the reform issues--the entire subject of course of my web page-- but instead is devoted entirely to ridicule, half truth, and trivia about me personally. As such it is clearly intended to assassinate my character and thus destroy my legal reform effort. His article follows, with my comments in italics:

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REBEL GOES AUSSIE

Bob "The Mad Bomber" Allston may have failed in his campaign to enlist UF academicians in his one man crusade to reform the American legal system.

Comment: Mr. Washington knows that this comment is irrelevant and misleading; and I would not know how he would obtain any such information anyway. Does he propose to know everyone I have talked to and have they made such statements to him? However by making such a statement it of course serves to discredit me and serves the purpose of turning faculty and students away from me before I have even talked to them. In my discussions around campus I haven't and wouldn't expect academics to enlist in anything at this point. My purpose in my discussions on campus has been to learn, assimilate ideas and look for consensus about the legal system. And because of this very kind of problem, I don't use the name of people who contact me through the internet unless they request it.

But thanks to cyberspace, he's making his mark in Australia.

The 60 year old homeless criminal-philosopher--a 1961 UF math graduate--arrived in Gainesville in September and set about prowling the campus of his alma mater, buttonholing professors, distributing tracts and trying to draw attention to his crusade to reform the American legal system.

Comment: Here again, Mr. Washington's choice of terminology-- "homeless criminal-philosopher, "prowling"," buttonholing professors", is intended to ridicule and trivialize and turn faculty and students against me. The term "criminal" which he has used extensively before, is stretching it a bit as well. In the so called bomb threat charge, now over three years old, I was never convicted of anything and any other arrests, such as the one in Dean Matasar's office were all entirely peaceful civil disobedience demonstrations to bring attention to the legal system's problems. As for my education, he doesn't bother to get it right; I graduated from the business school. Math was in graduate school.

First, he staged a sit-in in the office of UF law school Dean Richard Matasar. That got him arrested and temporarily shipped to Lee County, where he faces bomb threat charges.

Comment: Again, Mr. Washington might have made a few comments about the purpose of the sit in, appraising his readers of the substantive issues; for he has a copy of what was given to Dean Matasar at the time.

Then he hitched a ride back up to Gainesville and tried to get himself arrested again by distributing "contingent" bomb threats to faculty offices across campus. The threat was a little too contingent to get him arrested--it would only go into effect in the year 2000 and only if he were arrested. But it was enough to get him kicked out of a bed in St. Francis House, and he ended up sleeping on the pavement outside.

Comment: As Mr. Washington knows, I was not "trying to get arrested", as he puts it. To the contrary it was an act of civil disobedience to demonstrate the dysfunctional and hypocritical nature of the legal system and I doubted I would get arrested and I didn't. It served its purpose. As for getting kicked out of St. Francis and sleeping on the pavement, as he knows, I was due to leave the St. Francis program but I have certainly slept outside many times in many different places over the past three years (as well as with many kind friends); one of the prices I pay directly or indirectly for pursuing my legal reform interests and for his kind of journalism.

He then found a free-use public computer and set his own free Web page on the Alachua Freenet.

Comment: While Mr. Washington is obviously suggesting to his readers that I am somehow freeloading on the Alachua County Library's freenet computer terminals, do we assume he doesn't use freenet e-mail himself for free? Does he borrow books from the library for free? Perhaps he believes all critics of the legal profession should pay for library services and admirers of the legal system and lawyers should get them free.

While on the subject of free things, why doesn't he tell his readers (which he knows) that for the past three years I have been entitled to $120/ Mo. in free food stamps that I have never taken advantage of nor have I received any other welfare of any nature, meaning substantial hardship for me over this time but saving taxpayers money.

Allston's ideas caught the attention of James Gerrand, editor of the Australian Humanist magazine, who writes about them in the magazine's May issue.

As to Florida, says Allston, "I still don't have a single response to my home page from any faculty or students."

Comment: What Mr. Washington leaves out of this quote is the fact that I am referring only to Florida law faculty and students. As he knows I have received email from others. More attempt to discredit, trivialize, and convince the reader that my home page isn't worth looking at.

You can visit him at www.afn.org/~afn54735/, or on the sidewalk outside the St. Francis House.

Comment: Mr. Washington is well aware that I wasn't on the sidewalk outside of St. Francis House at any time. Again, he wishes to ridicule me as a homeless "street" person.

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Thus, in sharp contrast to the Australian article, which is completely devoted to the issues I have raised, making no personal observations about me at all, Mr. Washington's article is just the opposite, entirely ignoring the issues, concentrating instead on personal ridicule and disinformation.

The only reason I can give for this has to do with his education, connections, and his job at the Gainesville Sun newspaper. He advised me he had a bachelors degree in English from Duke University and a law degree from the University of Florida.

Thus, he apparently has no appreciable background at all in science, either hard science or social science; and of course that's what my Web page is about; converting the discipline of law into a science.

Also, his job at the Sun newspaper is to cover the UF campus. Thus, as a U.F. law grad, and now covering the campus for his newspaper, it is inevitable he has long standing relationships with law faculty; some of whom are almost certainly opposed to legal reform, at least as I am proposing it.

Thus he employs a classical ploy: If you can't debate your opponent fair and square, try defeating him by personal attacks and ridicule. If you can't win on substance, win by artifice; one of the lessons right out of law school. It is also unquestionably one of the more prominent reasons law students can't be taught ethics. And last but not least, it is also bad journalism; for his readers would be much more interested in learning about the legal system's problems than a lot of trivia and disinformation about me or anyone else.

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This web page is part of the Web site entitled LEGAL REFORM THROUGH TRANSFORMING THE DISCIPLINE OF LAW INTO A SCIENCE.