The rights of humanity in this great nation of ours, I mean.

Consider the following:

Information was had, and poorly compiled . . .

Too many of the wrong eyes were on the data.

Warrantless searches are the province of dictators and thugs. And perhaps of people who don't know any better in their zeal than to kiss off pieces of the Bill of Rights.

They are also the province of democracy, as evident in U.S. history. The Kennedy years fought this, particularly Bobby. That’s really not all that long ago, so I could almost insist that the need for warrants is the “new twist.” And as for the rights of the accused, Ernesto Miranda was charged with kidnapping and rape. He was positively identified in a police lineup by his victim, was questioned, had confessed to the crimes, and even went so far as to sign a written statement to the effect that he was a criminal -- without ever once being told he had a right to speak with a lawyer. This same written confession was later used at his trial.

Remember the name, because the case was later dismissed -- hence the Miranda Act of 1966, one of the most controversial acts of the Warren Committee.

Today, we, the public, are just so much cattle to those of the lofty powers of justice. The accused, though assured a “right” to council, do not have a choice of council, with so many falling to Miranda-provided public defenders. Justice is for sale, and usually purchased by the highest bidder. That is not recent, and has been so ever since the creation of the first word-twisting attorney. The wealthy had always gotten all the council they can afford, and the same is now true for the poor -- which is whatever new peon the state hands them. This is generally a public defender who is overloaded, overworked, overlooked, underpaid, and under-appreciated -- as well as one who works for the state (AKA the plaintiff), which adds up to a direct conflict of interest. The only out for the poor is to have against them a charge that is so controversial that high-priced attorneys would bid for them, hoping for some measure of political/business fallout to follow.

Search and seizure of private records are scary grounds to tread, for sure, but there are many who feel, for the sake of 9-11 (as well as -- and I would say mostly for -- personal/political reasons/goals) they must.

This would be a good place for those “investigation procedures” to materialize.

Cheers, Mary Anne,.
Dan