Conception news

[greeniguana]

Admiralty and maritime laws have been in existence since before the constitution. That's how they got written into US Code.....

Seafarers have the right to not be killed by their captain today, just as they did 200 years ago.

 

[Ministryofgiraffes]

Using a law from in 1800.... How sad.

yeah, like that other ‘230 year old law’ that is waaay outdated!

 

[cerich]

This reminds me of those obscure laws that are still on the books across the country. The ones like don't eat ice cream on Sundays or walking your donkey in public is illegal...

Everyone thinks they're dumb and outdated until some creative prosecutor finds a way to charge you with that 200 year old law.

I'm not saying that's the case here.

But I am saying, that this could be a case where an old law should have been reviewed at some point over the last 200 years. Because I can assure you the intent of the law was not to charge a live aboard dive boat captain...

Well..if the review established that there was no night watch, I for one hope the arrest and handcuffing bif the Captain is live streamed as he gets arrested under a still very relevant 200 year old law.

 

[Mod63]

230 years? Boys, real(tm) countries have 500+ years
Englands Magna Carta is from 1215, and even more important, Bavarias beer law is from 1516

 

[Ministryofgiraffes]

230 years?

Britain only beat the USA by 38 years on this one

 

[Tom Winters]

This case just sets me off no end.
I spent a lot of years in the dive industry and at sea, and the assclowns who survived this nightmare would not fare well in my impartial court...
As always, people who disagree with me and stick up for the survivors are, of course, entitled to their opinions.

 

[rjack321]

Trying to find a guilty person all ways necessary to sooth the families grief is also sad. This law is more than 200 years old. It should have been adjusted. If they can't find anything else than to blame them with, and they are using an "obscure law from before the Civil War" it means they don't have much else to stand on.

So what should it say exactly?

Cause people travelling by common carrier whether that is boat, train, plane, or bus have some reasonable expectations that their captain/driver is awake, not drunk, checking that the vessel is in working order, crewing and staffing are appropriate, and there are no obvious hazards. Falling asleep at the wheel, failing to maintain a watch, or inadequate staffing/crew/rest breaks etc are clearly spelled out in regulations at least one of which was broken here. That's a crime.

 

[KevinNM]

Or so it has been alleged. Let’s wait for the report before organizing the lynching. Maybe even the trial.

Not to say that it doesn’t look likely, but at this point it’s all assumptions.

 

[Shasta_man]

Since your safety is completely in the hands of the boat crew and you have little responsibility as well as ability to effect that safety other than not doing something so stupid as to directly endanger the boat and given the crazy things that happen in real life, that law seems reasonable and required. I admit to never captaining a boat but it's difficult to think of a situation that should change its general premise. If true, not having a nightwatch would seem particularly egregious since I would expect that to be a minimum for a number of reasons for 30 some people sleeping on a boat in the ocean.

 

[Brett Hatch]

I have no stake in the Conception fires on either side, do not know the maritime law well enough to comment on them, and do not know any facts that you all don't. So, not gonna try to convince you one way or the other on how this thing will play out, or whether justice is being done.

That being said, old laws which are still on the books and still enforced is generally a sign that they are good laws, not a sign that they need to be changed. If they were bad, then by definition, there would have been many chances by now to stop enforcing them or remove them entirely. So, arguing that they need to be updated just because they have been around for awhile doesn't really make sense.

Are a lot of examples of laws laying around that are both old and bad? Yes, of course there are plenty of them. But that line of reasoning is unhelpful for understanding what happened on the Conception, unhelpful to those involved and their families, and absolutely unhelpful when trying to understand how the legal proceedings will play out.