[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 54 (Wednesday, April 24, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H3738]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              WAKEUP CALL

  (Mr. BAKER of California asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BAKER of California. Mr. Speaker, politicians excoriate liberal 
judges for releasing dangerous criminals and the Clinton appointees are 
among the worst. But defense and plaintiff attorneys have found an even 
greater ally, the bleeding-heart juries.
  Half of the jury in the first case hung up the jury saying the 
Menendez brothers who murdered their parents for insurance money were 
afraid of their parents and should be released. It reminds me of the 
case in Richmond, CA, where the burglar fell through the roof and sued 
the property owner for having a faulty roof and won. Yesterday's 
decision that Bernhard Goetz who defended himself from subway muggers 
should pay $43 million because he injured one of the muggers was among 
the worst cases.
  The real problem is not just liberal judges or bleeding-heart juries 
but a lack of absolute values. Our Nation's switch to situational 
ethics does not allow us to hold people responsible for their own 
misdeeds.
  Should people who murder their parents prosper? Should burglars sue 
innocent property owners? Should thugs and muggers enrich themselves 
through court action when their victims rise up and defend themselves.
  Wake up, America, before your ability to move safely in urban areas 
joins the 40 percent of your income taken by a loving and caring 
government.

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