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Where Is The Proper Balance? Public Access To Government Information In An Era Of Concern Over National Security, James T. Shaw

Criss Library Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

My goal today is not to tell you precisely where the proper balance is, because that can only be worked out in democratic interplay among the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches of our governments. That process is awkward, halting, and sometimes maddening; but I continue to have great faith in the wisdom of our Founders, who perceived that checks and balances would over time prove a guarantor of our liberties. We must always remember that the Founders deliberately structured the Federal government so that it could never be too efficient. Recall that Benito Mussolini made great progress in making the …