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Short Story: "Intended Consequence"

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P. Orin Zack
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"Begging your pardon, sir, but it doesn't take a law degree to help with the grunt work. As long as someone with the expertise, and that includes law students, is calling the shots, the kids in my third-period history class are as well-equipped to pitch in as anyone else."

"Granted, but what would they be doing? What kind of cases would this center take on? The public interest is a pretty vague term."

"Some of the most important work that any citizen of this country could ask for. Things like protecting the constitutionally guaranteed rights of the citizens to access and make use of creative works that ought to be in the Public Domain."

Dubinsky shook his head. "I don't know. Isn't that the same legal minefield that the recording and movie industries have been plowing?"

"Plowing," Robieri agreed, "and reaping rewards from threatened legal action as well. The only thing stopping those industry associations from suing students at some of the country's most prestigious universities is the fact that their law schools students and teachers alike -- have decided to fight back."

Colleen picked up the thread. "And there's more, Senator. The need to protect our children from corporations who want to sue them will provide the impetus for teachers in every district in the state to go beyond the test requirements and involve their students in activities that bear directly on their lives and the lives of everyone else in the state. High school students will supply the volunteer labor force needed to support the actions brought on behalf of the community by university law students and by practicing attorneys doing pro bono work, and all of them become active participants, not only in the government and the legal system, but in the larger community as well."

Senator Dubinsky eyed them both suspiciously. "I'm not entirely sure I can afford the political heat that supporting your proposal will raise. After all, Mr. Robieri, the press are already champing at the bit to tear you to shreds for misusing your access to the students in your care."

"But that's exactly why you must do this, Senator. Demonstrating that there was the risk of serious public harm in my failure to speak out like that will deflect that ire, and turn it into a reason for the people of this state to support what will be seen as your proposal."

"Still. I'll have to think about it. Doing something like this will not put me in good stead with the corporations that supply a good bit of the money that makes government spending possible."

Colleen smiled, and looked away for a second, then fixed the senator with a stern look of disapproval. "The very same corporations that those law students and their army of teenaged helpers will very likely be going up against? I think you'd better spend some time thinking about who your constituency really is. Are you here to serve the people who voted you in, or the ones who picked up the tab for your campaign?"

Dubinsky frowned, and nervously glanced at the wall clock. "I'll think about it."

THE END

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Ever since I learned to speak binary on a DIGIAC 3080 training computer, I've been involved with tech in one way or another, but there was always another part of me off exploring ideas and writing about them. Halfway to a BS in Space Technology (more...)
 

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