Roman Polanski and the Rule of Law

I’ve been struck by the differing views in Europe and the United States regarding whether filmmaker Roman Polanski should be extradited. Polanski drugged and raped a thirteen-year-old girl in Los Angeles, and he then fled the United States in 1978, just before being sentenced. He lived openly in Paris and traveled and worked in Europe for 30 years before recently being arrested in Switzerland, where he remains in custody.

The sentiment among European politicians and artists seems to be that the extradition attempt is another example of uptight, moralistic Americans at work. Donald Tusk, the Polish Prime Minister, said Polanski was being victimized by vengeful Americans and their Swiss lackeys. The President of the German Film Academy was especially outraged because Polanski, an internationally acclaimed director, was arrested at a film festival. Franz Wagner, a German columnist, noted Polanski’s mother had died in Auschwitz and argued that Polanski should therefore be released “because he has suffered enough.” Perhaps the silliest comment came from French intellectual Bernard-Henri Levy. He thought Polanski, 43 at the time of the rape, should be forgiven for “a youthful error.”

Few of the European apologists or commentators have reflected how Polanski’s flight was an affront to the American justice system. Having pled guilty to rape, Polanski basically skipped bail and then continued to thumb his nose at the judge and courts for decades. This type of behavior is a more troubling matter for many Americans, given the central place a belief in the rule of law has in the dominant ideology. The rule of law is of course also held dear in Europe, but the Polanski affair makes clear Europeans are as likely to draw a sense of right and wrong from nationality, history, and a respect for art as they are to rely on a court of law.

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FIRED FOR ALL CAPS EMAILS IN NEW ZEALAND!!!!!

Boss_button Christoper Null: The Working Guy, who has a Tech blog over on Yahoo!, has this interesting story about a New Zealand worker fired for sending confrontational emails:

WHAT COULD BE MORE ANNOYING THAN THIS? MAYBE IF IT WAS BOLD? AND RED? . . . .

And if you worked for New Zealand’s ProCare Health, it could even get you fired.

That’s exactly what hapened to Vicki Walker, who was abruptly kicked out of her job for sending “confrontational emails” with text formatted in a variety of red, bold, and all caps fonts. Walker had sent the emails to fellow workers within the company, usually with stern and detailed instructions on how forms should be properly filled out.

Someone at ProCare didn’t like her approach, suggesting she caused “disharmony in the workplace” and was being too confrontational via email, eventually firing her without warning.

Walker, however, got the last laugh. She sued for wrongful termination and won the case, pocketing $17,000 in lost wages and for other unspecified harm caused due to the firing.

OK, so Null brings up some good questions about this unusual workplace situation, including: “Is it OK to fire someone for misuse of their caps lock button?”  I love his witty repartee about those responding in caps being fired!

What would happen in the United States?  Well, with our vaunted employment at will system, probably not much, unless you could make the argument that this type of firing causes intentional infliction of emotional distress (hard to see how this would qualify as utterly intolerable in a civilized society, no?).

Just cause for firing in a union or civil service environment – here, I have to agree with the Tribunal in New Zealand, I DON’T THINK SO!!!

Hat Tip:  MIKE ZIMMER!!!!

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Papal Encyclical – Caritas in Veritate

Mitch Rubinstein from Adjunct Law Prof Blog writes to me that, “this is a bit different, but I think readers may be interested in this posting about the Pope’s encyclical supporting unions.”  Here’s the post and a taste of Caritas in Veritate, issued on June 29, 2009:

While reflecting on the theme of work, it is appropriate to recall how important it is that labour unions — which have always been encouraged and supported by the Church — should be open to the new perspectives that are emerging in the world of work. Looking to wider concerns than the specific category of labour for which they were formed, union organizations are called to address some of the new questions arising in our society: I am thinking, for example, of the complex of issues that social scientists describe in terms of a conflict between worker and consumer. Without necessarily endorsing the thesis that the central focus on the worker has given way to a central focus on the consumer, this would still appear to constitute new ground for unions to explore creatively. The global context in which work takes place also demands that national labour unions, which tend to limit themselves to defending the interests of their registered members, should turn their attention to those outside their membership, and in particular to workers in developing countries where social rights are often violated. The protection of these workers, partly achieved through appropriate initiatives aimed at their countries of origin, will enable trade unions to demonstrate the authentic ethical and cultural motivations that made it possible for them, in a different social and labour context, to play a decisive role in development. The Church’s traditional teaching makes a valid distinction between the respective roles and functions of trade unions and politics. This distinction allows unions to identify civil society as the proper setting for their necessary activity of defending and promoting labour, especially on behalf of exploited and unrepresented workers, whose woeful condition is often ignored by the distracted eye of society.

As a member of a Jesuit law school faculty, I am very proud that the Catholic Church has continued to take such a view on the value of unions and the need to protect historically exploited workers.  I checked with my favorite Jesuit and he tells me this at least the fifth in a series of encyclicals commentating on the importance of labor unions starting with Pope Leo XIII in the late 1800s.

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