> I would argue even more strongly: laws should be so simple that the majority of people affected by them should be able to understand the main points of those laws by reading them, even without legal assistance.
Ignorance of the law, famously, is no excuse. As a layperson you're expected to read and understand all laws that affect you.
This is, of course, already absurd.
“Your Honor, why should I bother obeying a law my elected representatives could not be bothered to write?” seems like it should be a reasonable defense, but you’re right that the onus is on us as The Governed to know and understand every bit of slop and hallucination on the books.
Re:AI Will Write Complex Laws
by wakawaka28 on Sunday January 26, 2025 @12:10PM
(#42831640)
The reason ignorance of the law is no excuse is because anybody could claim it whether they knew or not, and nobody would necessarily know if it's true. I suspect that it would be viewed differently if the law is truly complex.
Indeed.
I would reframe that saying: Ignorance of the law must not become an excuse.
The difference being: when a reasonable person would in fact be ignorant, that's a systematic problem with the legal system.
I would argue even more strongly: laws should be so simple that the majority of people affected by them should be able to understand the main points of those laws by reading them, even without legal assistance.
Lawyers to dot the i's and cross the t's, and to make sure the counterparty also did so, not to explain the basics.