“There, embedded in the first ten amendments to the Constitution, are the words the framers gave them to climb and counter the mighty state, to keep their speech free, their confessions true, their trials fair, their homes and files sealed from cavalier invasion by police. If the rights were solid, all of the people’s stories would be uplifting. But parts of the Bill of Rights are eroding—dramatically in the war on terrorism and less obviously, more gradually, in the war on drugs and other commo...n crime. In courtrooms where hardly anybody goes to watch, violations of the same rights undermined by counterterrorism are evident, if less flagrant: searches without warrants, coerced confessions, punishment before judgment, the near extinction of jury trials, and legal defenses impaired by poverty and unreasonable procedure. In criminal justice as in counterterrorism, the executive branch has grabbed immense authority, distorting the process of determining guilt or innocence. All these are breaches of our founding principles.MoreLessRead More Read Less
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