Interesting People mailing list archives
IP: O'Connor Foresees Limits on Freedom
From: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Sat, 29 Sep 2001 18:17:16 -0400
Date: Sat, 29 Sep 2001 16:54:01 -0500 (CDT) From: Incognito Innominatus <anonymous () mixmaster nullify org> O'Connor Foresees Limits on Freedom By LINDA GREENHOUSE Describing herself as "still tearful" after viewing the World Trade Centersite, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor told a law school audience in Manhattan yesterday that as part of the country's response to terrorism, "we're likely to experiencemore restrictions on our personal freedom than has ever been the case in our country." Lawyers have a special duty to work to maintain the rule of law in the faceof terrorism, Justice O'Connor said, adding in a quotation from Margaret Thatcher,the former British prime minister: "Where law ends, tyranny begins." Justice O'Connor, who was on an official visit to India when the terrorist attacks took place on Sept. 11, was the first Supreme Court justice to speak publicly about the events and their possible legal consequences. She was themain speaker at the groundbreaking for a law school building at New York Universityin Greenwich Village. Her brief remarks emphasized the need to proceed with care in the aftermath of a national trauma that she said "will cause us to re-examine some of our laws pertaining to criminal surveillance, wiretapping, immigration and so on." Lawyers would play an important role in striking the right balance, she said, adding, "Lawyers and academics will help define how to maintain a fair anda just society with a strong rule of law at a time when many are more concernedwith safety and a measure of vengeance." Justice O'Connor did not offer an analysis of any particular proposal, instead observing that "no single response is appropriate for every situation."Referring to the prospect that military deployments overseas rather than domesticprosecutions will be a principal means of bringing terrorists to justice, she said: "It is possible, if not likely, that we will rely more on internationalrules of war than on our cherished constitutional standards for criminal prosecutionsin responding to threats to our national security." Justice O'Connor posed a series of questions at the ceremony:"First, can a society that prides itself on equality before the law treat terroristsdifferently than ordinary criminals? And where do we draw the line between them? Second, at what point does the cost to civil liberties from legislationdesigned to prevent terrorism outweigh the added security that that legislationprovides?"Without answering the questions herself, she concluded: "These are tough questions,and they're going to require a great deal of study, goodwill and expertise to resolve them. And in the years to come, it will become clear that the need for lawyers does not diminish in times of crisis; it only increases." Justice O'Connor, who grew up in Arizona, said her visit to New York and the trade center site had changed her image of a city she and her husband, John, had considered "harsh, brash, brassy, tough." Now, she said, "there is a new spirit here and it's one of warmth, solidarity, humanity and determination that we have not witnessed before." She added: "It's very noticeable and very moving."
For archives see: http://www.interesting-people.org/
Current thread:
- IP: O'Connor Foresees Limits on Freedom David Farber (Sep 29)