Photo: Shutterstock.com Harmless Error: 'Never Mind!'
How do "noisy" defects in a trial get air-brushed as "harmless"?
July 14, 2022 at 09:00 AM
7 minute read
Civil Appeals
Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill could serve as the twin instigators for the utilitarian tool that passes as harmless error. This clearing house device is not some venerable legal "doctrine," but rather, a judicially contrived convenience to avoid the necessity of remedial re-trials. Appellate tribunals excuse trial lapses by de minimis-izing them. This utilitarian bypass should not be confused with the fundamental right to Justice that Aristotle described as "the highest of all virtues *** excellence in the fullest sense." On the contrary, harmless error delivers "economy class" Justice.
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