Over centuries, the many exceptions carved into originally simple laws by sympathetic judges created a complex body of criminal law that allowed for many differences in outcomes depending on the facts of each unique case. It also often put defendants at the mercy of the perceptions and whims of the trier of fact -- most often a jury.

Lest you think that this is all ancient history, the nanny case should convince you otherwise. When we became a country, we adopted many of the hair-splitting definitions of crimes developed in England. And so, as in the nanny case, much of our criminal justice system involves a hunt for the right crime for the right set of circumstances. Let's face it: All evidence pointed to the fact that the child suffered death at someone's hands, and the evidence pointed to Louise as the culprit. But what was Louise really guilty of? Does shaking a child in frustration amount to murder if the child dies? The parents thought so; so did the prosecutors. And the jury agreed. But the judge, just like his brethren of old, was sympathetic to the defendant in this particular case and chose to split legal hairs -- and took Louise off the hook. Of course, if the judge had personally believed in the jury's verdict, then he could have found enough facts in the case to uphold the second-degree murder conviction. Depending on your viewpoint, the judge's decision is an example of judicious application of carefully defined laws, or of substituting personal judgment for law.

We seem to be coming full circle. Since being tough on crime is a natural position for most politicians, vast numbers of statutes imposing long mandatory sentences for a variety of crimes are pouring forth from our state and federal legislatures. And as once happened in England, many of our judges, defense attorneys and even a few compassionate prosecutors are now busy finding ways around these new laws in situations where the results are simply too harsh to countenance. And, predictably, our criminal justice system grows ever more complex.