Shredding the Constitution
Congress has to move before the holiday break on this year's version of the Patriot Act because several key components of the act expire at the end of this year. The House of Representatives have been busy on this bill, not only to extend what civil libertarians consider to be unconstitutional parts of the bill, but adding new, even more draconian measures. Representative "Tex" Sensenbrenner has been particularly busy, never a good thing when our liberties are involved. A NY Times editorial gives a brief outline of what ol' Tex has been up to.
In the national anguish after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Congress rushed to enact a formidable antiterrorism law - the Patriot Act - that significantly crimped civil liberties by expanding law enforcement's power to use wiretaps, search warrants and other surveillance techniques, often under the cloak of secrecy. There was virtually no public debate before these major changes to the nation's legal system were put into effect.
Now, with some of the act's most sweeping powers set to expire at the end of the year, the two houses of Congress face crucial negotiations, which will also take place out of public view, on their differences over how to extend and amend the law. That's controversy enough. But the increasingly out-of-control House of Representatives has made the threat to our system of justice even greater by inserting a raft of provisions to enlarge the scope of the federal death penalty.
In a breathtaking afterthought at the close of debate, the House voted to triple the number of terrorism-related crimes carrying the death penalty. The House also voted to allow judges to reduce the size of juries that decide on executions, and even to permit prosecutors to try repeatedly for a death sentence when a hung jury fails to vote for death.
...There are now 20 terrorism-related crimes eligible for capital punishment, and the House measure would add 41 more. These would make it easier for prosecutors to win a death sentence in cases where a defendant had no intent to kill - for example, if a defendant gave financial support to an umbrella organization without realizing that some of its adherents might eventually commit violence.
Any move to weaken the American jury system in the name of fighting terrorism is particularly egregious. But the House voted to allow a federal trial to have fewer than 12 jurors if the judge finds "good cause" to do so, even if the defense objects. Under current law, a life sentence is automatically ordered when juries become hung on deciding the capital punishment question. But the House would have a prosecutor try again - a license for jury-shopping for death - even though federal juries already exclude opponents of capital punishment. [Emphasis added]
The editorial points out that like the original act, the amendment proposed by Sensenbrenner and supported by the Republican leadership was introduced at the last minute with little debate allowed. It's clear that even the Republicans knew that if the implications of the amendment were examined, passage might very well be difficult, Republican majority or not.
Expanding the list of crimes for the death penalty is bad enough, especially when some of the crimes involve nothing more than financial contributions to terrorist front organizations, but tampering with the jury system to stack the deck in favor of the prosecution is outrageous.
The competing bills must now go to conference. Hopefully enough Senators on the conference committee will recognize, finally, that September 11 did not change everything. It did not change Constitutional guarantees.
Morons. Evil morons.
In the national anguish after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Congress rushed to enact a formidable antiterrorism law - the Patriot Act - that significantly crimped civil liberties by expanding law enforcement's power to use wiretaps, search warrants and other surveillance techniques, often under the cloak of secrecy. There was virtually no public debate before these major changes to the nation's legal system were put into effect.
Now, with some of the act's most sweeping powers set to expire at the end of the year, the two houses of Congress face crucial negotiations, which will also take place out of public view, on their differences over how to extend and amend the law. That's controversy enough. But the increasingly out-of-control House of Representatives has made the threat to our system of justice even greater by inserting a raft of provisions to enlarge the scope of the federal death penalty.
In a breathtaking afterthought at the close of debate, the House voted to triple the number of terrorism-related crimes carrying the death penalty. The House also voted to allow judges to reduce the size of juries that decide on executions, and even to permit prosecutors to try repeatedly for a death sentence when a hung jury fails to vote for death.
...There are now 20 terrorism-related crimes eligible for capital punishment, and the House measure would add 41 more. These would make it easier for prosecutors to win a death sentence in cases where a defendant had no intent to kill - for example, if a defendant gave financial support to an umbrella organization without realizing that some of its adherents might eventually commit violence.
Any move to weaken the American jury system in the name of fighting terrorism is particularly egregious. But the House voted to allow a federal trial to have fewer than 12 jurors if the judge finds "good cause" to do so, even if the defense objects. Under current law, a life sentence is automatically ordered when juries become hung on deciding the capital punishment question. But the House would have a prosecutor try again - a license for jury-shopping for death - even though federal juries already exclude opponents of capital punishment. [Emphasis added]
The editorial points out that like the original act, the amendment proposed by Sensenbrenner and supported by the Republican leadership was introduced at the last minute with little debate allowed. It's clear that even the Republicans knew that if the implications of the amendment were examined, passage might very well be difficult, Republican majority or not.
Expanding the list of crimes for the death penalty is bad enough, especially when some of the crimes involve nothing more than financial contributions to terrorist front organizations, but tampering with the jury system to stack the deck in favor of the prosecution is outrageous.
The competing bills must now go to conference. Hopefully enough Senators on the conference committee will recognize, finally, that September 11 did not change everything. It did not change Constitutional guarantees.
Morons. Evil morons.
posted by Diane at 4:27 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home