- people have protested extensively when there was a draft
- as far as I understand, unlike in Russia or some place you actually aren't forced to work in jail. It's voluntary - they do it because they get paid and get extra benefits
- no eminent domain would be pretty insane... you wouldn't have highways or railways etc. without it... since it's been abused in the past - but it has it's place
Forcing people to work for the court does seems like a weird thing though. The whole "contempt of court" is a bit arbitrary (like you can be jailed indefinitely .. based on the decision of just a judge?) and just hasn't really been abused till now
> people have protested extensively when there was a
> draft
I agree. But so what? It's a criminal offense to not register with the Selective Service System to this day, a system that exists primarily to facilitate conscription.
> as far as I understand [snip]
The 13th amendment explicitly allows for slavery for convicted criminals, and that's the basis for jail work. Wikipedia has an article about "Penal labor in the United States".
> no eminent domain would be pretty insane
I agree, but I also think that about "no conscription" and "no contempt of court". I have no strong feelings either way on penal labour. I think the US Court compelling a company to do something is probably a right the court already has, but that's sort of what Apple's case is about, right?
> Forcing people to work for the court does
> seems like a weird thing though
And this brings me back to the original point. In the context of conscription, penal labour, corporate personhood, eminent domain, and all the rest of the circus, it doesn't seem especially weird to me. It seems like a rarely used but existing right.
What it's absolutely not is some kind of "new low".
Forcing people to work for the court does seems like a weird thing though. The whole "contempt of court" is a bit arbitrary (like you can be jailed indefinitely .. based on the decision of just a judge?) and just hasn't really been abused till now