Re: [MLUG - DISCUSSION] Old laws

[Mike Miller <EMAIL:PROTECTED>]

On Mon, 9 Dec 2002, Mikhail Kovalenko wrote:

> Just because a law wasn't brought up for a 100 years should not make it
> any less valid. That's what the lawyers get paid the big bucks for,
> right -- remembering all the laws applicable to any particular case?
> Those laws can serve as pretty good sanity checks, reflecting how the
> society has changed over the years. If a law doesn't make sense anymore,
> who has the power to repeal it - the legislators or the judiciary?


The problem I have with the current situation in Missouri is that the law
existed for 130 years, say, and tuition has been charged at MU for, what,
100 of those years?  More?  Fewer?  Anyway, the point is, the law was
being violated continually for many decades.  Obviously, no one knew.
Now, suddenly, the law matters again and the state must make ammends for
"illegally" (under its own absurd, forgotten laws) charging tuition.
*Every* other state in the country charges tuition at their universities.

I would have been fine with it if the law was evoked within the first year
or two after they started to charge tuition.  Then I wouldn't care how old
the law was.  The thing that strikes me as preposterous is that the law
was ignored for *many* decades.  There ought to be some way for states to
protect themselves against this kind of mistake!

This is so crazy that I'm really surprised I haven't seen it in the
national news.

Mike

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