January 05, 2005

Non Sequitur?

From John Yoo's defense of Clarence Thomas today:
Thomas has always displayed suspicion of misguided efforts to cure society's ills with the latest academic theories.

In one 1999 case, the court invalidated a Chicago anti-gang ordinance that prohibited loitering. Thomas dissented, criticizing the court's highhanded approach: "Gangs fill the daily lives of many of our poorest and most vulnerable citizens with a terror that the court does not give sufficient consideration, often relegating them to the status of prisoners in their own homes."
Is there an academic theory saying that society's ill can be cured by letting gang members loiter? I'd like to hear it! And hey, that Thomas quote sounds suspiciously like Richard Posner-esque reasoning to me. Hm...
-- Brad Plumer 4:30 PM || ||