Susan N. Herman - Böcker

In this eye-opening work, the president of the ACLU takes a hard look at the human and social costs of the War on Terror. A decade after 9/11, it is far from clear that the government's hastily adopted antiterrorist tactics--such as the Patriot Act--are keeping us safe, but it is increasingly clear that these emergency measures in fact have the potential to ravage our lives--and have already done just that to countless Americans. From the Oregon lawyer falsely suspected of involvement with terrorism in Spain to the former University of Idaho football player arrested on the pretext that he was needed as a "material witness" (though he was never called to testify), this book is filled with unsettling stories of ordinary people caught in the government's dragnet. These are not just isolated mistakes in an otherwise sound program, but demonstrations of what can happen when our constitutional protections against government abuse are abandoned. Whether it's running a chat room, contributing to a charity, or even urging a terrorist group to forego its violent tactics, activities that should be protected by the First Amendment can now lead to prosecution. Blacklists and watchlists keep people grounded at airports and strand American citizens abroad, although these lists are rife with errors--errors that cannot be challenged. National Security Letters allow the FBI to demand records about innocent people from libraries, financial institutions, and internet service providers without ever going to court. Government databanks now brim with information about every aspect of our private lives, while efforts to mount legal challenges to these measures have been stymied. Barack Obama, like George W. Bush, relies on secrecy and exaggerated claims of presidential prerogative to keep the courts and Congress from fully examining whether these laws and policies are constitutional, effective, or even counterproductive. Democracy itself is undermined. This book is a wake-up call for all Americans, who remain largely unaware of the post-9/11 surveillance regime's insidious and continuing growth.

Herman provides an analysis and reference guide for the rights that the Sixth Amendment guarantees in all criminal prosecutions. She provides a history of the generation of each right from ancient times through the present. The public trial chapters analyze the development of Supreme Court case law interpreting the Sixth Amendment right and the companion First Amendment right of public access to trials, and then discuss current issues in interpretation of the Sixth Amendment right, including the controversial issue of cameras in the courtroom and the current questions about open proceedings involving alleged terrorists. The speedy trial chapters trace the development of the ideal of prompt proceedings and the Supreme Court's laws in this area, including a critique of the major Supreme Court cases.Discussion of recent case law highlights open issues regarding the scope of the Sixth Amendment rights and comments on the impact of speedy trial legislation introduced in the 1970s. Each section concludes with a bibliographical essay discussing the major books and law review articles written in each area and also included a table of cases cited.

If the FBI asks local law enforcement agencies to interrogate Arab and Muslim men within their jurisdictions, may the Detroit Chief of Police decline to do so? Would allowing the federal government to insist on local assistance be an example of undesirable federal overreaching or desirable national uniformity? If the FBI engages in a Joint Terrorism Task Force with local law enforcement officials in Portland, Oregon, may Portland police officers ignore surveillance-limiting Oregon state laws that apply to them, but not to the FBI? May those officers be bound to secrecy and prohibited from telling their employers if their colleagues violate state law? If the city of Arcata, California, disapproves of powers the USA Patriot Act gives federal investigators, may it prohibit its law enforcement personnel from helping the FBI conduct investigations?Concern about the proper balance between federal and local authority reaches back to the founding of our nation. That discussion has been re-ignited by the shock waves generated on September 11, 2001, which profoundly challenged our understandings of various constitutional strategies established to prevent overreaching by the Federal government. Until now, the discussion about the impact of 9/11 on American law has paid little attention to federalism, a vertical check on the federal government that complements the horizontal checks created by the separation of powers of the legislative, judicial, and executive branches.Questions about the ability of state and local governments to make their own policy choices form an important subset of questions about how far the federal government can or should go in its antiterrorism efforts. Clashes between claims of national authority and claims of local autonomy raise political questions that play out within a framework of constitutional law. Terrorism, Government, and Law is designed to foster an important national conversation on this subject.

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences, business, and law, expertly written by the world’s leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas. This insightful Advanced Introduction provides a kaleidoscopic overview of key US civil liberties, including freedom of speech, press, assembly, and religion, limitations on search and seizure, due process in criminal proceedings, autonomy rights, rights of equality, and democratic participation. Key Features: Discusses the historical development and current status of core civil libertiesExamines the tension between libertarian and egalitarian views of civil libertiesPromotes further understanding of the role of the US Supreme Court and other actors in setting levels of protection for civil libertiesProvides an overview of common themes in development and interpretation of constitutionally protected civil liberties in multiple areas, including abortion Featuring examples of how key civil liberties have been shaped by historical, legal, and philosophical forces, this Advanced Introduction will be essential reading for students and scholars in American studies, history, human rights, law and politics, and political science.