More Tortures R Us
I already have lots of reasons for being unimpressed by Judge Richard A. Posner's legal jurisprudence. Objective economic analysis is not very useful when value judgments are necessarily subjective. How do you quantify the value of a free press? The freedom from cruel and inhuman punishment? The right to a trial? The presumption of innocence?
Apparantly, it is not worth much at all. In his new book, "Not a Suicide Pact: The Constitution in a Time of National Emergency" Judge Posner writes "coercive interrogation up to and including torture might survive constitutional challenge as long as the fruits of such interrogation were not used in a criminal prosecution.”
It is little short of frightening that a Judge sitting on one of the highest courts in the Country can even consider such a proposition - let alone advance it as plausible.
It is even more frightening that Judge Posner writes “there is no handle in the constitutional text for the unilateral assumption of dictatorial powers by the president, no matter how desperate the circumstances."
Notice the use of the term "unilateral". Perhaps the assumption of dictatorial powers by the president would be permissible according to Posner if, say, a compliant Congress approved the act.
In fact, that is exactly what is happening today. President Bush has unilaterally assumed the right to imprison people without charges, search homes without warrants, or with secret warrants, to hold prisoners without access to courts, lawyers, friends, or family. To maintain secret prisons for the purpose of torturing secret prisoners. Of wiretapping the telephones and e-mail of countless individuals with no oversight whatsoever.
The President has already assumed dictatorial powers and Congress has been compliant. Judge Posner's new book is an apologia for these anti-democratic and unconstitutional arrogations of power. Judge Posner has written an apologia that would extend to the Nuremburg Laws. . . .it was a time of emergency, they were approved by the legislature, so they weren't so bad, just as surely as it extends to the excesses and crimes against humanity of George Bush and his administration.
Judge Posner writes "We don’t want the Constitution to be just an old piece of parchment”, but it sounds as though he already considers the Constitution to be little more than that.
For a thorough review of Judge Posner's latest see Michiko Kakutani, A Jurist’s Argument for Bending the Constitution, NY Times Book Review, Sept. 19, 2006
Apparantly, it is not worth much at all. In his new book, "Not a Suicide Pact: The Constitution in a Time of National Emergency" Judge Posner writes "coercive interrogation up to and including torture might survive constitutional challenge as long as the fruits of such interrogation were not used in a criminal prosecution.”
It is little short of frightening that a Judge sitting on one of the highest courts in the Country can even consider such a proposition - let alone advance it as plausible.
It is even more frightening that Judge Posner writes “there is no handle in the constitutional text for the unilateral assumption of dictatorial powers by the president, no matter how desperate the circumstances."
Notice the use of the term "unilateral". Perhaps the assumption of dictatorial powers by the president would be permissible according to Posner if, say, a compliant Congress approved the act.
In fact, that is exactly what is happening today. President Bush has unilaterally assumed the right to imprison people without charges, search homes without warrants, or with secret warrants, to hold prisoners without access to courts, lawyers, friends, or family. To maintain secret prisons for the purpose of torturing secret prisoners. Of wiretapping the telephones and e-mail of countless individuals with no oversight whatsoever.
The President has already assumed dictatorial powers and Congress has been compliant. Judge Posner's new book is an apologia for these anti-democratic and unconstitutional arrogations of power. Judge Posner has written an apologia that would extend to the Nuremburg Laws. . . .it was a time of emergency, they were approved by the legislature, so they weren't so bad, just as surely as it extends to the excesses and crimes against humanity of George Bush and his administration.
Judge Posner writes "We don’t want the Constitution to be just an old piece of parchment”, but it sounds as though he already considers the Constitution to be little more than that.
For a thorough review of Judge Posner's latest see Michiko Kakutani, A Jurist’s Argument for Bending the Constitution, NY Times Book Review, Sept. 19, 2006
posted by BuddhistAttorney | 8:03 PM
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