Too many lawyers, too much legislation. Example: A homeowner's deed used to be five pages, now it's exploded to over 60 pages of legal wharrrgarbl, thanks to the legal profession. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Scalia responds to a question about the “quality of counsel” who appear before the court:
"Well, you know, two chiefs ago, Chief Justice Burger, used to complain about the low quality of counsel. I used to have just the opposite reaction. I used to be disappointed that so many of the best minds in the country were being devoted to this enterprise."
"I mean there’d be a, you know, a defense or public defender from Podunk, you know, and this woman is really brilliant, you know. Why isn’t she out inventing the automobile or, you know, doing something productive for this society?"
"I mean lawyers, after all, don’t produce anything. They enable other people to produce and to go on with their lives efficiently and in an atmosphere of freedom. That’s important, but it doesn’t put food on the table and there have to be other people who are doing that. But, no, by and large I don’t have any complaint about the quality of counsel, except maybe we’re wasting some of our best minds."
I don't know about that "best" minds part.
Brings to mind another quote: "...Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."
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