The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury...nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense. In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. |
| | The fundamental right to Due Process, expressed in the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eigth articles of the Bill of Rights are designed to assure the fundamental fairness of criminal justice procedures. Due process was one of the most important freedoms for early Americans: Samuel Adams asserted that American anger toward at-will general searches by British troops to be "the Commencement of the Controversy between Great Britain and America." (Levy, Original Intent, 227-8; Glasser 166) Due process rights are constantly challenged by the suggestion that they are only a refuge for the guilty and a roadblock to effective law enforcement. Actually, due process laws protect the innocent by maintaining a standard of fairness and consistant procedure of investigations and trials. Unfortunately, due process protections and the professional procedures they protect are constantly eroding: the FBI, which overzealously investigated law-abiding Americans in the 1960's (?), has most recently been given free-reign again through the "anti-terrorist" USA-PATRIOT act. |
|
 |
Wednesday, August 28, 2002 |
The Failures of Technological Security
This collection of articles from the Atlantic Monthly highlights the dangers of relying on technological solutions to America's post-9/11 security needs, especially those that invade our civil liberties. The articles all note in particular that there is valid tradeoff between liberty and security-- except that this technology does not provide real security.
"The trick is to remember that technology can't save you.... We know this in our own lives. We realize that there's no magic anti-burglary dust we can sprinkle on our cars to prevent them from being stolen. We know that car alarms don't offer much protection. The Club at best makes burglars steal the car next to you. For real safety we park on nice streets where people notice if somebody smashes the window. Or we park in garages, where somebody watches the car. In both cases people are the essential security element. You always build the system around people."
The danger to our civil liberty and livelihood is also pointed out in the context of biometric ID cards:
"For the purposes of a national ID card, identity is a unique, unchanging set of distinguishing characteristics: the flecks in one's iris, the ridges of one's left thumb.... As Americans, though, we have a higher identity: free agent, self-legislator, citizen. It's a common identity held individually. It's what allows us to bond and make a nation or, if necessary, dissolve our bonds. This identity can't be captured on a card, but there is a risk it could be supplanted by one."
These articles should be taken into consideration of the Deering High School ID Badges.
2:30:49 PM 
|
|
American Library Association: The USA-Patriot Act
The American Library Association has posted a collection of information about the investigative provisions of the USA-Patriot Act. The collection is intended to be a guide for librarians, but is also very useful for library users interested in the impact on their privacy and due process rights. [From the Scout Report]
2:02:56 PM
|
|
And Now, The Secret Appeals Court...
[Following the Secret Intelligence Court's rebuff of the Justice Dept...]
The nation's super-secret intelligence appeals court has been asked to make a ruling on the extent of the police powers that should be granted to the Justice Department. By Philip Shenon. [New York Times: National]
2:02:35 AM
|
|
Man Freed After DNA Clears Him of Murder
Eddie Joe Lloyd had confessed to the rape and murder of a sixteen year old girl in 1984. He had made his confession while being evaluated in a mental hospital and says that he had made it in order to help the police capture the real killer.
Eddie Joe Lloyd, on capital punishment: "I consider myself lucky.... Seventeen years? If Michigan had the death penalty, I would have been through, the angels would have sung a long time ago."
Judge Leonard Townsend, overturning the conviction: "I have never heard this gentleman say, `I didn't do it,' or, `They forced me to say it.' Even though he might have lied about what he did, the fault falls on him. The fault lies with no one else."
Judge Townsend, convicting Lloyd, 1985: "The sentence that the statute requires is inadequate. The only justifiable sentence, I would say, would be termination by extreme constriction."
[New York Times: National]
1:27:03 AM
|
|
Deering High Requires Photo Badges
Deering High School will be requiring students to wear photo badges at all times this upcoming school year. Although the school is seeking to protect students and improve security, the photo badges will not realistically protect the school from intruders. Students will also be losing the opportunity to learn about their rights to privacy and due process.
12:02:15 AM
|
|
© Copyright 2002 Lucas Burke.
|
|
|
