Saturday, October 3, 2009

Should Extortion be a Crime?

In the recent scandal involving David Letterman, an employee at CBS threatened to publicize Letterman's sexual liasons with CBS staff members unless Letterman paid $2 million dollars.

Set aside whether Letterman's relations with these women violated sexual harrassment law or CBS policy.

My question is, why should extortion be a crime? Why isn't this just a matter between Letterman, CBS, and the employee making the accusations?

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I do not believe that it is the employee of Letterman that is making the claim. But as to the questions why extortion is a crime, I think we have made a judgment as a society that civil and criminal remedies are best handled in a peaceful way by use of our courts. Thus, if you have a civil cause of action against someone you may pursue that. If you know that a crime has been committed you may report it to an appropriate agent of the criminal justice system. The problem with extortion are (1) once money get involved the civil and criminal remedies are corrupted and tainted (2) issues of unjust enrichment, and (3) the allegations are made in a setting where there is no process or rules. Also, do we really want people who specialize in making these type of claims??

Matt said...

We already have people that specialize in making these claims they are called politicians. Extortion is their bread and butter. It is how they get bills passed.

Anonymous said...

It does meet the Mills criterion -- harm done to others -- and every instinct I have says yes, blackmail ought to be a crime. But if it's not a crime to take the news of adultery to the tabloids (and if it were, those who want morally upstanding leaders could not discuss politics) and it's not a crime to take money from the tabloid (and if it were, one could not be a professional journalist) then it seems somewhat perverse to ban the exchange that would lead to the lesser evil.

Thing is, we're not all David Letterman. No one outside of my family cares if I have an affair. But if I were to do so indiscreetly, extortion then becomes someone's opportunity for profit. That profit corresponds to social loss, not gain. And it seems more in the category of a stick-up than a trade. So yes, I will vote with my instinct -- this should stay illegal.

--Michael

Anonymous said...

This isn't extortion. It doesn't involve physical force.

Anonymous said...

Interesting article you got here. I'd like to read something more concerning this topic. Thanx for sharing that info.
Sexy Lady
Escort in London

Anonymous said...

-
quit smoking today -
reg defense -
registry winner -
reg tool -
reverse mobile -
richard mackenzie direct -
rocket german -
rotator cuff training -
rss feeds submit -
satellite pc box -
save the marriage -
spy no more -
spyware stop -
super seduction power -
surefire trading challenge -
tattoo me now -
the bad breath report -
thedietsolutionprogram -
the diet solution program -
the dog food conspiracy -
the mini site formula -
tmj help -
tonsil stones remedies -
truth about abs -
twitter trick -
vincedelmontefitness -
vince del monte fitness -
warp speed fat loss -
wedding speech 4u -
win clear -
xbox 360 red light fix -
xp repair pro -
500 love making tips -

Anonymous said...

advanced defrag -
alpha male system -
amazing cover letters -
anti spyware -
anti spyware bot -
article rewriter -
art of approaching -
auto cash system -
burnthefat -
burn the fat -
bv cures -
calling men -
camera dollars -
carb rotation diet -
cash making power sites -
cb mall -
combat the fat -
conversationalhypnosis -
conversational hypnosis -
credit secrets bible -
destroy hemorrhoids -
dirty talking guide -
dotcom income secrets -
duplicate file cleaner -
dvd copy pro -
earth4energy -
earth 4 energy -
easy launcher -
easy system cleaner -
eatstopeat -
eat stop eat -
eczema free forever -
end your tinnitus -

Anonymous said...

fatburningfurnace -
fat burning furnace -
fat loss 4 idiots -
final sync -
firewall gold -
fitness model program -
fit over 40 -
fit yummy yummy -
flattenyourabs -
flatten your abs -
forex candlesticks made easy -
forex killer -
forex megadroid -
get rid of your cellulite -
g money pro -
google shadow -
governmentregistry -
government registry -
gov resources -
health biz in a box -
homemadeenergy -
home made energy -
hybrid water power -
i software tv -
joyful tomato -
keyword spy pro -
kingdom of pets -
macro virus -
malware bot -
maternityacupressure -
maternity acupressure -
meet your sweet -
microcap millionaires -

Anonymous said...

conversational hypnosis -
copy n profit -
credit secrets bible -
cure angular cheilitis -
cure morning sickness -
dirty talking guide -
domain tweak system -
dotcom income secrets -
duplicate file cleaner -
earth4energy -
earth 4 energy -
easy launcher -
easy system cleaner -
eatstopeat -
eat stop eat -
eczema free forever -
email finder -
energy 2 green -
error nuker -
evidence smart -
fat burning furnace -
fat loss 4 idiots -
final sync -
fitness model program -
fit yummy yummy -
flattenyourabs -
forex enterprise -
governmentregistry -
government registry -
home job stop -
homemadeenergy -
home made energy -
how do i get him back -
hyper vre -

Anonymous said...

video piggy -
vincedelmontefitness -
vince del monte fitness -
viral tweets -
warp speed fat loss -
webstigate -
win clear -
win spy -
worlds best compost -
xp repair pro -
yeast infection no more -
your approved -
500 love making tips -
acid alkaline diet -
advanced defrag -
amazing resume creator -
anti spyware -
art of approaching -
av advance -
banish tonsil stones -
bookmarking demon -
burnthefat -
burn the fat -
carb rotation diet -
catch spouse cheating -
cb affiliate blueprints -
combat the fat -
conversationalhypnosis -
conversational hypnosis -
cure angular cheilitis -
directory of ezines -
dirty talking guide -
dish tv for pc -
dog training online -

stop pre ejaculation said...

Thanks a lot for this time sharing about SHOULD EXTORTION BE A CRIME?. This is really a nice reading to be sharing.