Law Commons^™

Leashing The Internet Watchdog: Legislative Restraints On Electronic Surveillance In The U.S. And U.K., John P. Heekin

John P. Heekin

This article examines the legislative approaches undertaken by the United States and the United Kingdom to regulate the surveillance and interception of electronic communications. Drawing from the recognition of individual privacy in each country, the author explores the development and impact of statutory provisions enacted to accomplish effective oversight of the respective intelligence services. In the U.S., the shifting purposes and provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 are tracked from implementation to its revisions following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Along that timeline, a distinct trend toward greater deference to Executive authority for electronic surveillance …

Coming To Illinois May Mean Loss Of Rights To Decide Under Guardianship, James T. Struck

James T Struck

About 500,000 people die in U.S. nursing homes each year some related to second hand smoke. One Illinois nursing home has staff blow smoke in my face, drive a truck near me, throw parental belongings into the garbage, deny dental and religious services. The nursing home administrator said "you are going to be dead" for expressing concerns with shaking hands, saying I would contact the US attorney about slavery like treatment of disabled persons, requesting that my mother get fresh air from second hand smoke. I have been litigating for over 31 months to visit, phone, take home, take parent …

Coming To Illinois May Mean Loss Of Rights To Decide Under Guardianship, James T. Struck

James T Struck

About 500,000 people die in U.S. nursing homes each year some related to second hand smoke. One Illinois nursing home has staff blow smoke in my face, drive a truck near me, throw parental belongings into the garbage, deny dental and religious services. The nursing home administrator said "you are going to be dead" for expressing concerns with shaking hands, saying I would contact the US attorney about slavery like treatment of disabled persons, requesting that my mother get fresh air from second hand smoke. I have been litigating for over 31 months to visit, phone, take home, take parent …

How Earl Warren Previewed Today’S Civil Liberties Debate—And Got It Right In The End, Sandhya Ramadas

Sandhya Ramadas

Earl Warren is revered for his tenure as Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and for his legacy as the icon of American civil liberties, but a dark moment lurked in his past. In late 1941 and early 1942, as the Attorney General of California, Warren confronted a host of difficult questions involving constitutional law, civil liberties, and race relations. With the United States still reeling from the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and with the dawn of the involvement of American combat troops in World War II, Warren advocated for the relocation and internment of both Japanese Americans and …

Civil Liberties And The Terrorism Prevention Paradigm: The Guilt By Association Critique, Robert Chesney

Bobby Chesney

This piece, which appears in Michigan's annual Survey of Books issue, takes two books by David Cole (one co-authored with James Dempsey) as points of departure for a review of the liberty-security debate in the years shortly after 9/11. It begins with a discussion of theoretical models associated with "balancing" liberty and security, and then proceeds to review Cole's (and Dempsey's) work on a range of issues. The article includes my first efforts to explore the material support statutes, a topic I have explored in more detail in subsequent work.

All The Way Down The Slippery Slope: Gun Prohibition In England And Some Lessons For Civil Liberties In America, David B. Kopel, Joseph Olson

David B Kopel

Whenever civil liberties issues are contested, proponents of greater restrictions often chide civil liberties defenders for being unwilling to offer moderate concessions. Frequently, persons advocating restrictions on civil liberties claim that the "moderate" restriction will not infringe the core civil liberty. When rights advocates raise the "slippery slope" argument, they are criticized for being excessively fearful. The goal of the article is to refine our understanding of "slippery slopes" by examining a case in which a civil liberty really did slide all the way down the slippery slope.

The right to arms in Great Britain was entirely unrestricted at the …

Preventing A Reign Of Terror: Civil Liberties Implications Of Terrorism Legislation, David B. Kopel, Joseph Olson

David B Kopel

Domestic terrorism is not a reason to abrogate constitutional rights, argues this 101-page paper, which discusses the 1996 omnibus federal terrorism bill, and other terror proposals. Topics include: scope of the terrorism problem; Britain's mistaken response to terror; use of the military in law enforcement; the Internet; militias; wiretapping; the FBI; and federalizing local crime.