Glossary entry (derived from question below)
French term or phrase:
crispation judiciaire
English translation:
judicial knee-jerk reaction
Added to glossary by
Travelin Ann
Feb 4, 2010 22:46
14 yrs ago
2 viewers *
French term
Ireland
crispation judiciaire
French to English
Social Sciences
Social Science, Sociology, Ethics, etc.
This comes from an article written by an activist group complaining about the heavy-handed treatment of their members by the law. This includes the nature of the arrests, periods of detention, sentencing and the like.
'... exemples de crispation judiciaire à l'encontre de citoyens prêts à mouiller leur chemise pour s'adresser directement à nos dirigeants politiques...'
I'm not looking for a dictionary definition so much as a comparable expression that is non-violent in its connotations: heavy-handed, trigger-happy, etc. won't work in the context. I need to cover the idea that this is an excessive or overly literal application of the law, and that it suggests a kind of reactionary, jumpy response to a non-problem. It can be relatively casual.
'... exemples de crispation judiciaire à l'encontre de citoyens prêts à mouiller leur chemise pour s'adresser directement à nos dirigeants politiques...'
I'm not looking for a dictionary definition so much as a comparable expression that is non-violent in its connotations: heavy-handed, trigger-happy, etc. won't work in the context. I need to cover the idea that this is an excessive or overly literal application of the law, and that it suggests a kind of reactionary, jumpy response to a non-problem. It can be relatively casual.
Proposed translations
(English)
Change log
Feb 5, 2010 01:35: writeaway changed "Field" from "Law/Patents" to "Social Sciences"
Oct 6, 2010 00:16: Travelin Ann Created KOG entry
Proposed translations
8 mins
Travelin Ann
Native in English
Timely translations
Native in: English
Works in: French to English, English, English to French
Related KudoZ points
:
10
Selected
judicial knee-jerk reaction
To avoid this judicial knee-jerk reaction, which seems to be predicated upon the assumption that the more supervision the better, we suggest the following argument that might challenge the judge to think about the purpose of supervision.
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Many thanks – this got the kind of mouthy quality I was looking for AND covered the physical allusion of 'crispation'. (I went for 'knee-jerk justice' for extra bombast!)"
+1
29 mins
margaret caulfield
Native in English
Works in field
Accurate, natural and very hard-working
Native in: English 
, Spanish
Works in: Spanish to English, English to Spanish, French to English, and 3 more.
the police being on edge/up tight
Another suggestion.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Chris Hall
: I really like and fully agree with "being on edge", Margaret. Not so sure about "up tight" though.
4 mins
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Thanks again, Chris, although I quite like "up tight".
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| disagree |
Jennifer Levey
: As most of the other answerers have recognised in their answers, this concerns the judiciary, or maybe the legal system as a whole, not specifically the police.
12 hrs
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I obviously disagree with you. Otherwise, I would have offered another suggestion.
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| neutral |
Gabrielle Leyden
: uptightness of the judiciary/courts - "judiciaire" is not "police"
16 hrs
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| agree |
Carruthers (X)
: "judiciaire" = "police judiciaire", the official name of the police force in France. Margaret is right.
2 days 10 hrs
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Thanks, Carruthers.
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5 hrs
law enforcement overkill
http://consumerist.com/2009/09/grandmother-arrested-for-buyi...
Grandmother Arrested For Buying Cold Medicine Twice In One Week
Last March, Sally Harpold bought a box of Zyrtec-D cold medicine for her husband, then a few days later bought a box of Mucinex-D cold medicine for her grown daughter. That put her over the limit for how much pseudoephedrine-laced cold meds you can buy in a week in her small Indiana town, so she was arrested along with 16 other potential meth makers earlier this month.
Her county has the unfortunate distinction of being the fifth-largest producer of meth in Indiana, despite being the 12th-smallest county in the state, which may help explain the law enforcement overkill to some degree.
Grandmother Arrested For Buying Cold Medicine Twice In One Week
Last March, Sally Harpold bought a box of Zyrtec-D cold medicine for her husband, then a few days later bought a box of Mucinex-D cold medicine for her grown daughter. That put her over the limit for how much pseudoephedrine-laced cold meds you can buy in a week in her small Indiana town, so she was arrested along with 16 other potential meth makers earlier this month.
Her county has the unfortunate distinction of being the fifth-largest producer of meth in Indiana, despite being the 12th-smallest county in the state, which may help explain the law enforcement overkill to some degree.
Note from asker:
| Thanks, John, this was a good option. |
9 hrs
judicial excesses
tentative de reformulation: exemples de débordements judiciaires à l'encontre des citoyens qui sont prêts à se sacrifier pour s'adresser directement à nos dirigeants politiques.
je me trompe peut-être!
je me trompe peut-être!
9 hrs
Sandra & Kenneth Grossman
Israel
Israel
Native in English
Works in field
Israel
Quality, Reliability, Experience.
Native in: English , Romanian
Works in: French to English, Hebrew to English, Romanian to English, and 3 more.
judicial fixation
Explanation:
Pursuing them well beyond reasonable extent.
Or inflexibility/ rigidity in the application of the law. Or squeezing all the legal possibilities.
Pursuing them well beyond reasonable extent.
Or inflexibility/ rigidity in the application of the law. Or squeezing all the legal possibilities.
11 hrs
disproportionate police response
Or just "disproportionate response" - I know this is not a catch phrase, but I'm throwing it into the mix as a possibility, as I think this is frequently how such treatment is described.
See for instance:
http://www.topix.com/forum/source/whec-rochester/TSQSLDITDM3...
http://palsolidarity.org/2009/12/9985
See for instance:
http://www.topix.com/forum/source/whec-rochester/TSQSLDITDM3...
http://palsolidarity.org/2009/12/9985
11 hrs
legal stiffness
to show some legal stiffness in dealing with....
1 day 10 hrs
Carol Gullidge
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Native in English
United Kingdom
poetically precise prose with... panache
Native in: English 
Works in: French to English, Spanish to English, English
Related KudoZ points
:
27
judicial highhandedness
OR EVEN Judicial officiousness
OR you might even be able to try "overbearing officialdom" if the context makes it clear that the officialdom refers to the judiciary
NB, highhanded is not the same as heavy handed
The Rule of Law and Judicial Independence
14 Sep 2009 ... In a sham democracy, however, judicial highhandedness is given free rein and transparency is irrelevant. Those prosecuted for political ...
www.keadilanrakyat.org/index.php?option... - Cached
George Will
15 Jan 2009 ... by judicial fiat, the argument will become as embittered as the argument about abortion has been by judicial highhandedness. ...
www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/will011509.php3 - Cached - Similar
If You Have Elections, Why Forbid Politicking? .
... when abolitionist feelings were running high and so was resentment of the judicial highhandedness that produced the 1857 Dred Scott decision. ...
news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1842&dat=20020103&id...
The Hindu : Opinion / Letters to the Editor : Judicial intolerance
25 Sep 2007 ... For a vibrant democracy to thrive, such judicial highhandedness is undesirable. The newspaper should be asked to prove the allegations and ...
www.hindu.com/2007/09/25/stories/2007092556611001.htm - Cached
Foreword: The New Court Searches for Identity
by NL Nathanson - 1971 - Related articles
acts as a check on judicial highhandedness. But Duncan does not appear to have contemplated that a public trial is an alternative guarantee which serves the ...
www.jstor.org/stable/1141697
Record Spring 2008
19 Feb 2009 ... by judicial fiat, the argument will become as embittered as the argument over abortion has been by judicial highhandedness.” ...
www.ecinc.org/Records/rec_spring2009.htm - Cached
Legal Affairs
Contrast this approach with the judicial highhandedness on display in the court's 2000 Stenberg v. Carhart decision, which nullified the judgment of dozens ...
www.legalaffairs.org/printerfriendly.msp?id=753 - Cached
[MLL] TADA invoked for political vendetta in jehanabad
And the victims are now convicted for life and at the receiving end of this politico-judicial highhandedness. Please also see the enclosed files . ...
www.mail-archive.com/marxist-leninist-list@lists.../msg0424... - Cached
OR you might even be able to try "overbearing officialdom" if the context makes it clear that the officialdom refers to the judiciary
NB, highhanded is not the same as heavy handed
The Rule of Law and Judicial Independence
14 Sep 2009 ... In a sham democracy, however, judicial highhandedness is given free rein and transparency is irrelevant. Those prosecuted for political ...
www.keadilanrakyat.org/index.php?option... - Cached
George Will
15 Jan 2009 ... by judicial fiat, the argument will become as embittered as the argument about abortion has been by judicial highhandedness. ...
www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/will011509.php3 - Cached - Similar
If You Have Elections, Why Forbid Politicking? .
... when abolitionist feelings were running high and so was resentment of the judicial highhandedness that produced the 1857 Dred Scott decision. ...
news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1842&dat=20020103&id...
The Hindu : Opinion / Letters to the Editor : Judicial intolerance
25 Sep 2007 ... For a vibrant democracy to thrive, such judicial highhandedness is undesirable. The newspaper should be asked to prove the allegations and ...
www.hindu.com/2007/09/25/stories/2007092556611001.htm - Cached
Foreword: The New Court Searches for Identity
by NL Nathanson - 1971 - Related articles
acts as a check on judicial highhandedness. But Duncan does not appear to have contemplated that a public trial is an alternative guarantee which serves the ...
www.jstor.org/stable/1141697
Record Spring 2008
19 Feb 2009 ... by judicial fiat, the argument will become as embittered as the argument over abortion has been by judicial highhandedness.” ...
www.ecinc.org/Records/rec_spring2009.htm - Cached
Legal Affairs
Contrast this approach with the judicial highhandedness on display in the court's 2000 Stenberg v. Carhart decision, which nullified the judgment of dozens ...
www.legalaffairs.org/printerfriendly.msp?id=753 - Cached
[MLL] TADA invoked for political vendetta in jehanabad
And the victims are now convicted for life and at the receiving end of this politico-judicial highhandedness. Please also see the enclosed files . ...
www.mail-archive.com/marxist-leninist-list@lists.../msg0424... - Cached
Note from asker:
| Thanks for providing all the refs – very thorough and helpful! |
Discussion
The term "law enforcement" is sometimes used as a synonym of "police". However, "law enforcement" has a broader meaning because this field may include prosecuting officials, criminal courts and corrections.
Go raibh maith agat.