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by pclmulqdq 756 days ago
Wait, in every single jurisdiction, when Alice wants something and Bob can do it, bribery is when Alice pays Charlie, who happens to be representing Bob for the transaction, to get the thing done. The canonical example of bribery is that a supplier (Alice) gives a company manager (Charlie) a nice watch in order to close a deal with the company (Bob).

In this case, Alice (Google) is paying Bob (the DoJ) with the expectation that Charlie (the judge in the case) will be forced to do something in response to the payment. Bob is in court with Alice to (ostensibly) get this payment as well as a few other things. Bob and Charlie here have no relationship. Nothing about this is bribery.

If this is a bribe, then paying your parking tickets is a bribe. If this is a bribe, buying something from an electronics store with the expectation that you can download the user manual from the manufacturer's website is a bribe.
1 comments
free_bip 756 days ago
Paying your parking ticket does not change the legal process - The govt sends you a letter saying you must pay the fine or challenge in court, and you pay it.

What Google is doing is changing the legal process - The govt wants a jury trial, Google is saying "here's some money, now no more jury trial." It seems more than a bit different, at least to my non-lawyer eyes.

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pclmulqdq 755 days ago
No, paying your ticket very much does change the legal process. The government may be free to seek other sanctions in court if you go there, and by paying up and giving in to the first demand, you preclude them from that opportunity. You change the legal process by giving up the money and not contesting the fine.

Every action you take in a legal process is a "change" of that legal process. At issue here is whether the plaintiff/claimant can demand a jury trial. Juries decide facts, and judges decide the law. By giving up the money, Google is effectively saying they won't be contesting the facts of the case. That means no need for a jury.

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pests 755 days ago
No one is changing the legal process.

Still in the same systems the same rules, same procedures.

It's not like they went outside the legal system.

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