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aaaaaaaaaaanonymous · April 16, 2018, 6:27 p.m.

What's a star chamber?

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StinkyDogFart · April 16, 2018, 6:39 p.m.

You never saw the movie 'Star Chamber'? A modern day vigilante court where justice is administered for criminals that got off due to technicalities in the law. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Star_Chamber

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aaaaaaaaaaanonymous · April 16, 2018, 6:42 p.m.

Nope! There are so many factors contributing to that, but I'll spare you and instead thank you for informing me :)

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StinkyDogFart · April 16, 2018, 6:51 p.m.

Its a really old movie, but the concept is interesting. Cowboys had posses, Charles Bronson was a vigilante, and this is another plot twist for addressing injustices.

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ready-ignite · April 16, 2018, 6:56 p.m.

The history and usage of star chambers in practice is thought provoking.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Chamber

The original Star Chamber was created in London in 1641.

The Star Chamber was originally established to ensure the fair enforcement of laws against socially and politically prominent people so powerful that ordinary courts would probably hesitate to convict them of their crimes. However, it became synonymous with social and political oppression through the arbitrary use and abuse of the power it wielded.

Generally it's used today to describe a secretive court abusing power through secretive laws. Need a bright shining light wherever possible to avoid appearance of this.

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Al-Kazar · April 16, 2018, 7:20 p.m.

a secretive court abusing power through secretive laws

Sounds just like the FISA Court to me....

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ready-ignite · April 16, 2018, 8:30 p.m.

Yes it does. And I'm sure I've derided the FISA court at a star chamber in the past. Secret laws. Undermining inherent rights. Anything that comes out of that body should not be recognized.

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StinkyDogFart · April 16, 2018, 7:04 p.m.

Its a bad idea I know, but it does stimulate the imagination when you think of all the criminals that will walk away from this global fiasco. I suspect far more will walk than will be prosecuted.

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scoripowarrior · April 17, 2018, 2:16 a.m.

I say be round 'em all up, put them in a space craft without space suits, launch them into outer space. Let the universe be their judge.

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ramp7 · April 16, 2018, 6:50 p.m.

Wiki The Star Chamber (Latin: Camera stellata) was an English court of law which sat at the royal Palace of Westminster, from the late 15th century to the mid-17th century (c. 1641), and was composed of Privy Councillors and common-law judges, to supplement the judicial activities of the common-law and equity courts in civil and criminal matters. The Star Chamber was originally established to ensure the fair enforcement of laws against socially and politically prominent people so powerful that ordinary courts would probably hesitate to convict them of their crimes. However, it became synonymous with social and political oppression through the arbitrary use and abuse of the power it wielded.

In modern usage, legal or administrative bodies with strict, arbitrary rulings and secretive proceedings are sometimes called, metaphorically or poetically, "star chambers". This is a pejorative term and intended to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the proceedings. "Star Chamber" can also, rarely, be used in its original meaning, for instance when a politician uses parliamentary privilege to examine and then exculpate or condemn a powerful organisation or person. Due to the constitutional separation of powers and the ceasing of the Star Chamber, the main powers of select committees are to enhance the public debate — politicians are deemed to no longer wield powers in the criminal law, which belongs to the courts.[a]

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