Speeches & Articles

Message from President regarding the War on the Constitution

The exact order in which things happen is sometimes muddied. Perhaps it does not matter. For years we have had the so called "War on Crime" and the "War on Drugs". We have seen the net effect of these wars. More people are incarcerated in some jail or prison in the United States than any other industrial nation. State sanctioned executions go on unabated. Yet with all these incarcerations and executions are we really any better off as a nation?

Now we have the "War on Terror". Make no mistake, personally, like most of you, I detest the terrorists who launched attacks on our country on 9-11. They murdered a college friend of mine who worked as an attorney for the New York Port Authority. He was trapped in one of the Towers and died there.

Like most Americans, I want the terrorists to be brought to justice. Like most Americans, I want them to stop attacking my fellow Americans. As an American I feel the general undercurrent of fear and anger that we all feel, waiting for the next attack.

As an American I want my country to protect us. Yet as a defense lawyer I must ask at what cost? What will be the cost of the "War on Terror"?

The "War on Crime" and the "War on Drugs" has already lead to a steady erosion of our fundamental rights. Over the last forty years we have seen the line protecting our rights get thinner and thinner. Anyone who denies this lives in a fantasy land. We are not yet a police state, but will we become one?

We want our nation's leaders to protect us, but not at any cost. Our President has sanctioned illegal wiretaps across the nation. He and many other politicians seem not to care much about trampling on the Constitution in their rush to fight the "War on Terror".

Some may argue that our jobs as defense attorneys are trivial when measured against larger world events. I would counter that our role as defense attorneys now and in the future will become even more important in preserving our nation.

As defense attorneys it will fall to us to make certain that as our nations leaders attempt to protect us from outside forces, they do not destroy us from within. As the "War on Terror" proceeds, in the years to come there will be greater calls for more drastic measures to protect us. As defense lawyers, it will fall upon us to make certain that the Constitution does not become a casualty of the "War on Terror". Hopefully, those prosecutors and judges who honor the Constitution as we do, will join us in our fight to preserve our nation and the liberty we all cherish. Time will tell.