The One-Way Street:
The One-Way Street: How the Law Demands Your Vigilance but Denies Your Protection There is a profound contradiction at the heart of American public safety. If a teacher notices a bruise on a student’s arm and fails to report it to the authorities, she can be arrested. If a nurse suspects domestic abuse and stays silent, he faces criminal charges. This is the law of Mandatory Reporting: a rigid, unforgiving statute that places the burden of vigilance squarely on the shoulders of private citizens. The State demands that we see, that we speak, and that we feed the system information under threat of prosecution. But what happens once that report is filed? What is the legal obligation of the State to act on the information it demanded? The answer, established by the highest courts in the land, is shocking in its asymmetry: Zero. While the citizen is legally compelled to cry for help, the State is constitutionally free to ignore the call. By analyzing the "First Principles" of the...