Let's Talk About: The Word "Crime"

What's in a name? A name is a label or a representation of an object, which through usage and custom, is accepted by society and then becomes identified with the object. The name gives us a familiar reference point which we can then use in discussing the object with others. A name becomes the short form of the object. Instead of describing and re-describing in detail the properties of an object when refering to it in conversation, we simply provide the given name and we have instant recognition and understanding.

Etymology is the study of the history of names: from where the word came and at what period in our history the use of the word began. This history of a word is intriguing. Much like a puzzle, the history of a word can reveal a secret past, which may provide an unexpected connection. Thus, the original intent of the name, which may have transformed through time and usage, is retrieved to provide knowledge to those who desire it.

The word "crime" is defined as "an act punishable by law, usually considered an evil act." In a later posting, we will look at differing definitions, when we discuss what is a crime in the context of law generally and criminal law specifically. But for our purposes today, the definition given is the one we will accept. The first known usage of the word "crime" was in the High Middle Ages around 1250. Within this time, the Medieval period, or "Age of Faith," was drawing to an end as Marco Polo explored and returned laden with spices and stories. The Renaissance was not too far behind.

The etymology of "crime" is from the Old French crimne, which came from the Latin crimen meaning accusation and the Latin root cerno meaning "I decide. I give judgment." However, Rabbi Ernest Klein, a Romanian-born Canadian linguist, in his Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, suggests that crimen is actually derived from the phrase, "cry of distress." The Latin was derived from the Ancient Greek word krima, which means a judicial sentence or condemnation.

The history of the word does reveal shades of today`s meaning but embues the word with much more colour than the dictionary meaning we used at the beginning of this posting. Crime also now speaks to the concept of accusation, which in turn speaks to the presumption of innocence as the accused has yet to be found guilty. Or the idea of justice or judgment as in the Latin and Greek root of the word. Finally, crime speaks of a cry of distress, an individual who has lost his or her way in life and looks to society to not condemn or judge but to lend guidance.

In this historical word play, crime has taken on different shades of meaning and caused us to think of the word in different way.

Legally Minded Books to Read

In my last posting, we enjoyed some #longreads and today we will discuss even longer ones. The following is my list of 5 legally minded books to read over the holidays:

1. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky circa 1956. This book stays with you. There is no other book, which can climb into the mind of a killer with so much detail, perspective, and pity. The horror of the act is observed in the backdrop of a ruthless Russia, where poverty, corruption, and greed reign. Yet, it is tempered by a beautiful and delicate theme of redemption, which is guaranteed to leave you weeping.

2. Bleak House by Charles Dickens circa 1852. I love this book. There is no better opening chapter of a book like this one as the Court of Chancery becomes a metaphor for the thick fog spreading through London like the Angel of Death sweeping through Biblical Egypt when the Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites leave. And so too does the story spread as the wards in Jarndyce vs. Jarndyce weave through the London streets together with delicious characters like Guppy, Tulkinghorn, and Clemm.  The twists and turns in this book is pure Dickens as is the language and the tragic consequences.

3. The Onion Field by Joseph Wambaugh circa 1973. This is another book, which although I read many years ago, I think and ponder about every now and then. This true crime novel, a first for Wambaugh, chronicles a horrific crime in a California onion field and the subsequent court case, which had far reaching consequences both on a personal and societal level. Wambaugh writes a moving account of a factual case and it reads like fiction.

4. A Void (La Disparition) by Georges Perec circa 1994. This quirky book is the kind of experimental writing I find fascinating. A book written completely without the vowel "e", Perec manages to use this omission or void to highlight the Kafkaesque nature of the narrative. Originally written in French, where the vowel e is even more essential, the book is actually highly biographical. Perec, an orphaned survivor of the Holocaust, finds in his missing vowel the personal themes of loss, limitations, and emptiness.

5. Plato's Apology by Socrates. The wry wit employed by Plato as he excoriates the Senate must be experienced first hand by reading Socrates replay of Plato's trial, judgment, and death. It is brilliant rhetoric. Even to the end, Plato had the capacity to teach. Just as we today have much to learn from his logic and reasoning.

Longreads For the Holidays

The holidays is a perfect time to indulge in a book or a longread. In Twitter nomenclature, a longread is an online article which will typically take longer than the usual five minutes or less one might spend reading a web page. There is a good reason searching the internet is called "surfing": one doesn't want to spend too much time on that big wave. It will either peter out and disappoint or it will come crashing down and inundate us.

In any event, the following is a list of 5 longreads I found:

1.Karyn McCluskey: the woman who took on Glasgow's gangs: This is an article of one person's fight to find peace in a turbulent City. Karyn McCluskey, a former nurse, forensic psychologist, and head of intelligence analysis for Glasgow, turned the City's gang mentality around by understanding how violence worked "like an infectious disease" and beget "recreational violence," which in turn created the City's gang mentality. Through the use of a Boston-based initiative called "focused deterrence strategy," the scheme couples zero tolerance with, what I can only describe as, an intense collective "scared straight" program. 

2. Sleep Disorders Common Among Cops: Study Fascinating longread of a study which indicates 40% of police officers in North America suffer from sleep disorders, which may impair their judgment and reaction time. The actual journal article from JAMA is for purchase only but the Abstract is here. There is also a companion author video here.

3. A Guide to the Occupy Wall Street API There is so much out there on the Occupy movement but this longread puts an apt API spin on it. 

4. Armenian Genocide Articles: I have connected some short read articles on the Armenian genocide issue, which has been re-ignited by the recent French Bill criminalizing denial of the World War I massacre. The incredible reach of this issue makes these connections even more fascinating but the real issue of the massacre is what makes world politics disturbing. Read the articles here, here, here, here, and finally for an article on how art connects to life: here.

5. Who Owns The Words? This is from 2010 but a very relevant longread, Texts Without Context. This is a book review of Reality Hunger, a "book" by David Sheilds. The book is a compilation of excerpts of other writer's works, which are at times manipulated or micro-managed to suit Sheilds's intent. Many of the quotes are taken out of context and as such, become, through a fresh reading of the words, imbued with a new meaning. In this way, Sheilds makes these words his own. Two connections come to mind for me: Stanley Fish's Is There A Text In This Class? and the use of music sampling and remixing in hip-hop and dubstep.

So kick back and relax this weekend with some #longreads or better yet, find some for yourself! As Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote as Sherlock Holmes: "What one man can invent, another can discover."

Connecting Hitchens, Havel, And Kim With Human Rights

This past week three extraordinary people died: Christopher Hitchens, Vaclav Havel, and Kim Jong-il. All three impacted the world and human rights, but in very different ways.

When any famous or, shall we also say, infamous people die, there are many news articles, opinion pieces, and blogs about them and their legacies. Some postings were laudatory, as in the case of Vaclav Havel, the enduring symbol of the Czech "Velvet Revolution" or what the Czechs' prefer, "the November events." Havel was an artist, a celebrated poet and playwright. But he was also a dissident who was deeply passionate about his homeland and the concept of democracy. After the Revolution, Havel was appointed President and returned Prague to its magnificence as the "Paris of the East." 

Other articles were castigating: the demise of Kim Jong-il revealed the pathos of a country caught in the iron grip of oppressive dictatorship. A country where "the opium of the people" was the leader himself: worshipped and idolized. To observe the grief of the country over Kim's demise is like watching a slow-moving train wreck as people, young and old, collapse on the streets. A crumpled and lifeless country, devastated by the loss of a caricature of a leader. Truly, the antithesis of Havel - an AntiHavel - not embracing a nation but preserving it under glass as an ornament of the past.

Still other passages were quirky and colourful like the man whom they purported to describe: Christopher Hitchens, himself a demi-God (he would have hated that!) to the witty and smart set. But he was a scrappy fighter for the underdog and a true critic, or shall I say cynic, of the world. He was an observer, who also participated, and that made him the ultimate man of the post-modern era. 

With all three men, we are faced to re-evaluate our own consciousness of being, our own concept of freedom, and our own mortality. Shall we think big and be like Havel: become a social activist and speak out for issues we hold dear? Or shall we look at the individual or micro-rights and change the world, one individual at a time. We definitely will not be Kim and rigidly adhere to a false construction of reality.

Whichever way we decide to "celebrate" these lives and their legacies, what is clear is this: they force us to make choices and to decide what we believe in and on which side we stand. But better yet, I say we think as Hitchens would have liked us to do and ask ourselves "is there really a side at all?"

Chalk one up for humanity in this week of reflection.

Holiday Gifts For That Special Lawyer On Your List

In effort to help those who are still struggling with gift giving ideas, I am re-posting (kind of like re-gifting!) a previous blog, from November 26, 2011, on holiday gift giving ideas for the lawyer and non-lawyer on your list. And for those who just can't click on another link, I have reproduced it below:

I am feeling in the holiday mood, despite the Black Friday antics in the USA. If you have a lawyer on your list or just someone special, here are a few suggestions:

1. Donate

Donations are my favourite way of saying "I love you!" and there are many places that need our financial support and help. You can donate as a "gift" to the organization or in honour of a loved one or even in memory of those whom you will miss over the holidays.

As a lawyer in Alberta, I like to donate to the Lawyers Assist program run by the Law Society of Alberta. This organization assists lawyers in need of help for a myriad of reasons such as substance abuse, depression, and the like. Another organization I support is the Legal Archives Society of Alberta. History is so important and is an ideal worth supporting. 

As a criminal lawyer, I support the John Howard Society. This worthy institution provides support for offenders and their families. For a female touch, the Elizabeth Fry Society also helps female offenders in need of guidance. The rehabilitative aspects of these organizations benefits all of society. 

As a lawyer who teaches human rights, I like to donate to Simon Weisenthal Centre, which promotes human rights and holocaust education. The Canadian Civil Liberties Association works hard at preserving and protecting our human rights and civil liberties. The number of cases in which they receive intervenor's status is astounding. A donation there is a big "thank you" to those who volunteer their time to ensure our freedoms are protected.

Personally, I also support the World Wildlife Fund and the Canadian Cancer Society. Buying one of those breast cancer wristbands, I spoke of in my "Keep A Breast" campaign blog would be another great gift. Finally, if you are a member of an ethnic group, as I am, donate to a worthy cause in your specific community. 

2. Gifts Which Say "I Believe In This Worthy Cause"

There are a number of gifts you can give a lawyer or really anyone who cares about an issue. Those breast cancer wristbands for instance. Another idea is a "banned books" bracelet from the American Library Association website. The bracelet, which also comes in a childrens' book version, is made of small stylized front covers of various banned books. My favourite banned book included in the item is "To Kill A Mockingbird," which I recently saw as a play and blogged about here.

If you want to get more radical, buy a T-shirt from Rosa Loves, a website dedicated to what we are dedicated to: they provide T-shirt messages with meaning and as a vehicle for raising awareness and funds. Once the goal has been met, the uniquely designed shirt is no longer available to give way for the next project. An example, is this cool T to raise money for Armonia, a Mexican organization which helps the rural community.

3. Legal Stuff

There is a lot of legal "stuff" out there. If you are channeling former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, then you will love the "great seal" pin from the Supreme Court Historical Society shop. Or if your taste runs more Canadian, try the cuff links from the Parliament of Canada gift shop. I prefer something to jazz up my dashboard and the bobble-head President Lincoln fits the bill from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. Although, those Lincoln Logs bring back memories. As a fun piece of trivia, Lincoln Logs were designed by John Lloyd Wright, the son of the famous architect.

4. Retro Gifts

Any lawyer would like a gift that harkens to the nostalgic past. The Star Wars: The Blueprints book would make a nice gift in that memory lane category. This spoof of my son's first baby book Good Night iPad would also be a nifty choice but do not buy Robert Munsch'sclassic Love You Forever, unless you want a good cry. The best retro gift has to be The Beatles Yellow Submarine action figures. Admittedly, I have a few in my basement, including the Blue Meanie.

5. What I Would Like

A T-shirt from the Imaginary Foundation. I love this website, with its mixture of science, art, design, and everything cool, the Imaginary Foundation makes me feel creative. Just check out these T-shirts and you can see why. I just bought my son this Kaku shirt. I also want the National Film Board's production of Blackfly, based on a song by Wade Hemsworth. You can watch it here. Be prepared, it's addictive. I would also like the book recently published on JRR Tolkein's original illustrations. Finally, I would like everyone to watch or re-watch Lord Bertrand Russell's message of tolerance so we can truly have peace on earth this holiday season.

By the way, I did receive the JRR Tolkein's original illustrations as a lovely Chanukah gift.Happy holidays everyone!