The spirit of the law, the letter of the law, and bad Badminton

Posted on August 7, 2012 by Tim Leahy

 Eight women’s doubles badminton players from China, South Korea, and Indonesia were disqualified from the 2012 Olympics after throwing matches in order to manipulate future match-up opponents. Although it was technically not illegal to attempt to lose on purpose the Olympic Committee decided it violated the spirit of competition and warranted their disqualification. I’ve often heard lawyers criticized for attempting to win a case on a technicality or by arguing that someone may have violated the spirit of the law but not the letter of the law. It doesn’t happen as often as people might think. Like the bad badminton players, most litigants will find that a case is won or lost based not on what they believe is right or wrong but on whether a judge or jury decides they actually did something wrong.

About Tim Leahy

Timothy P. Leahy, a partner at the firm, practices law in Maryland and the District of Columbia and is a member of the American, Maryland, D.C, and Prince George’s County Bar associations. He received his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Baltimore Law School in May 2000, earned his M.B.A. in 1993 at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, and his B.S. in Transportation & Logistics at Maryland in 1990. Timothy brings over 10 years experience in business to his practice of the law and focuses on litigation and general practice matters. A former home improvement contractor and army reservist, he volunteers with Christmas in April and has coached for the Bowie Boys & Girls Club. He is a Board member of his homeowners association, pro bono counsel for Bowie CLAW, and a volunteer Mediator for the District Court of Maryland. Timothy moved to Bowie in 1982 and lives there with his wife of 24 years and two sons.
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