ACSBlog ... Chemerinsky - "Even terrorism suspects have rights"
"Proposals like Sen. Joe Lieberman's to take away a suspect's citizenship put the nation on a dangerous path," writes UC Irvine School of Law Founding Dean Erwin Chemerinsky in the Los Angeles Times. Chemerinksy, a frequent ACS participant, took to the pages of the Times amid persistent critiques of the federal response to an attempted bombing in Times Square, including a proposal by Sen. Lieberman to strip terrorism suspects of citizenship.
Chemerinsky writes:
Those who commit terrorist acts can and should be severely punished; stripping them of their citizenship and failing to inform them of their right to remain silent serve no additional purpose.
There is no reason to believe that advising terrorism suspects of their rights obstructs effective law enforcement. Take the case of Faisal Shahzad, accused of placing the car with explosives in Times Square. He spoke to authorities before being given his Miranda warnings, and continued to speak after. In fact, police have demonstrated over decades that they can function effectively even when suspects are advised of their rights. If there is a public safety emergency, current law permits questioning without Miranda warnings. Those determined not to speak will refuse to do so whether or not they have been informed of their rights.
Proposals for depriving Americans of their citizenship or civil liberties ignore the risks of doing so. If individuals accused of terrorism acts can be deprived of their citizenship or their rights, would this extend to defendants such as Timothy McVeigh or Terry Nichols, who were convicted of the Oklahoma City bombing? In fact, why shouldn't all mass murderers be deprived of these rights as well? They too terrorize communities.
The great fear is that when the government has the power to strip some people of basic rights, it cannot be easily limited. Fundamental protections of our democracy are lost, and for no gain. We have seen time and again that terrorists can be successfully prosecuted without stripping them of their rights during the process.
Responding to acts of terrorism with deprivations of civil liberties is a familiar and troubling pattern.
[LATIMES]
