China, Haiti, Patty Murray, And Why Following The Law Makes Sense. Always.
I am a fanatical about abiding by the laws in whatever country I am in, not because I necessarily like the laws, but because I do not want to go to jail. I do not know whether we Americans are more arrogant about our own country's reach than those from other countries (though I suspect that we are), but there do seem to be far too many Americans who mistakenly believe some or all (or at least some variation) of the following:
1. If it's legal in the United States, it's legal everywhere;
2. If the United States goes easy on it (marijuana possession, for instance), every other country also goes easy on it, or at least will go easy on it when it is an American involved;
3. If it is legal in the United States and illegal somewhere else, well then surely that somewhere else is acting silly and will come to its senses when a good American lawyer explains to them how things should be;
4. And, if worse comes to worse, and an American commits a crime overseas, the US government will fly them home to mommy and daddy.
None of the above are usually true, though in some cases if you are accused or convicted of a crime overseas, you might be able to get your local newspaper to write an absurd editorial or, if you are extremely wealthy, you might be able to get Senator Patty Murray to write a letter to President Obama asking him to "raise the issue" of your detention. In other words, if you are charged with a crime overseas, you are pretty much on your own....even if you are an American. [FULL DISCLOSURE: My law firm is involved in two law suits against Global Fishing, the owner of which on whose behalf Senator Murray felt "called upon" to intervene, including this one for $5.8 million, plus interest.]
That was in stark evidence today as a Haitian judge ruled that ten Americans who went to Haiti and allegedly scooped up a bunch of Haitian children and drove with them to the Dominican Republic border. The media are saying that many of the kids were not orphans and that the ten Americans had no legal basis for taking the kids or for trying to cross the border with them.
For more on the criminal side of living and doing business in China, check out the following:
-- "Avoiding Chinese Jails. I'm Talkin' To You." (this post contains a whole host of great tips for making sure you stay on the right side of the law in China)
-- "Amazing Lawyers and The Criminal Side of China Business"
-- "Criminal Law and Business in China -- A Strong Caution"
-- "Foreign Partners In China Crime Do The Time"
-- "Bad China Products. Hey It's A Criminal Thing"
--"Bad China Products. Hey, It's A Criminal Thing, Part II"
http://www.chinalawblog.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-t.cgi/3459
China, Haiti, Patty Murray, And Why Following The Law Makes Sense. Always.:
Comments
No no no... you probably had most people until the Haitian children thing. I think a lot of people are disturbed and conflicted about this because there's a serious equity issue here. It very well COULD be an example where breaking the law leads to better outcomes for every single person in the short and long-run. If you're performing a cost-benefit analysis, SOME people could reasonably believe that at the expense of breaking the law (and with the probability of suffering real penalties for it taking into consideration some of the things you mentioned), they could be saving tons of lives. It's why starship Captains often have difficulty with the Prime Directive and it's not a clear cut issue sometimes -- despite the fact that the PD holds (for some of the reasons you cite).
Posted by: Admiral | February 4, 2010 9:57 PM
Did you expect anything more from Patty Murray, who has always made sure to make herself available to the highest bidder, no matter what the issue? Does this show that American politics are as corrupt and class centered as Chinese politics?
Posted by: ComparisionShopper | February 5, 2010 6:04 AM
I'm not sure what the connection is between the Haitian children situation and the point you where making. This isn't a situation where something is legal in the US and illegal elsewhere. If you took ten kids from a disaster area in the US and drove them to Mexico, I think you'd end up in a lot of trouble.
I think it *could* be an example of "since we are in a different country, the rules that we need to follow in the US don't apply, and we can do whatever the heck we want."
Posted by: Twofish | February 5, 2010 6:34 AM
As a simple rule of thumb if you have a desire not to be incarcerated in a foreign land:
stay calm and avoid taking children, drugs and other peoples' stuff.
Posted by: uk visa | February 5, 2010 10:27 AM
Dan,
I do not think it fair that you go after only Patty Murray when Dave Reichert wrote a similar letter. Also, the scuttlebutt out there is that John Sununu (not sure if father or son) has flown off to Russia and will be bringing Arkady back with him. I have no idea if this is really true or not but thinking maybe you know or if you don't, you can ask one of Arkady's $1000 an hour DC lawyers who seem able to get him the politicos he needs.
Did you notice the Save Arkady site mentioned in the Seattle Times article is now down? Do you think that is in response to your blog?
Posted by: RussianVeryFishy | February 6, 2010 6:53 PM
Totally agree with Dan. Americans show up abroad, break local laws, and are surprised when things go south. THEN they cry for help from the US government. I don't see why we expect foreigners to follow US laws, but then are surprised when foreigners apply their laws to us in their jurisdictions.
"The 10 Americans detained on kidnapping charges are pleading for the United States government to do more on their behalf and for the news media to focus on them less."
Posted by: Anonymous | February 9, 2010 3:07 PM