Our forefathers wrote the Constitution at a time when travel was by horseback, people went into the woods to forage for food and the nearest neighbor might be miles away. As well-written as the Constitution is, those writers could not have conceived of abortion issues, patent infringements and labor disputes.
They say that we are "a government of laws, not of men." Basically this means that courts of the land are required to make their judgments based objectively and to consider legal relationships over human relationships. In recent years the Supreme Court has come under fire as they have based many of their cases on previous legal decisions, many of which were made during a completely different era, under completely different worldly circumstances and regardless of the current interests of the general public.
A legal question in a Florida locksmith case brings into focus our present legal malaise. According to news reports, a Florida locksmith has been using a family name for his business and has a website with the same name. The company has been in business for almost a century. A legal question came about when a new locksmith business was established. The new locksmith company reportedly used exactly the same business name as the established company but added an "s" to the end of the name on their website. Both locksmith businesses are located in the same general Florida vicinity.
According to a Florida newspaper, three members of the new locksmith business were arrested and charged with assorted illegal activities See: http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/news/news/national/suspect-in-locksmith-scam-surrenders/nZbp3/
This is not the end of the story. The manager of this new locksmith business just sent an E-mail to Locksmith Ledger. He claims that "all charges were dismissed" against his locksmith company. In his E-mail he also states, "it was never a criminal act to use a similar name of a company." This fellow claims to now be writing a book on the success of his legal victory.
I have always advocated the use of family names for a business rather than a name which puts you first in the phone book. Ace Locksmith or Active Locksmith cannot convey the same personal touch as compared to Bill's Lock & Key or Smith's Lock Service. Now it appears that nothing is out of bounds. The legal system has gone amuck and business reputations built over many decades now appear to be easy prey for any upstart in order to gain an advantage.
