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Legal Affairs: Dreyfus, Guantánamo, And The Foundation Of The Rule Of Law, David Cole
Legal Affairs: Dreyfus, Guantánamo, And The Foundation Of The Rule Of Law, David Cole
Touro Law Review
Analogous to the Dreyfus affair, America's reaction to the events of September 11, 2001, subverted the rule of law to impose penalties on those it viewed as a threat. There are lessons to be learned from both the Dreyfus affair and America's reaction to September 11, 2001.
Legal Affairs: Dreyfus, Guantánamo, And The Foundation Of The Rule Of Law, David Cole
Legal Affairs: Dreyfus, Guantánamo, And The Foundation Of The Rule Of Law, David Cole
Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works
The Dreyfus affair reminds us that the rule of law and basic human rights are not self-executing. In a democracy, individual rights and the rule of law are designed to check popular power and protect the individual from the majority. Yet paradoxically, they cannot do so without substantial popular support. Alfred Dreyfus received two trials—or at least the trappings thereof—and was twice wrongly convicted. The rule of law was initially unable to stand between an innocent man and the powerful men who sought to frame him. But the issue of Dreyfus's guilt or innocence was not …