Timely topic for the 4th of July...
THOMAS MITCHELL: Do I hear a knock at the door?
"The deterioration of every government begins with the decay of the principles on which it was founded."
-- Baron De Montesquieu
Normally this space is devoted to the rights delineated in the First Amendment -- especially those of speech and press -- but recent events warrant a pulse check of the entire Bill of Rights on this Independence Day eve.
Of course, the First has been under constant assault since inception, with the latest affront coming from judges abridging freedom of the press by threatening to lock up reporters for refusing to reveal their confidential sources.
Then there was that strange split ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court on posting the Ten Commandments in public buildings, leaving the free exercise of religion and establishment clause a muddle.
Not to mention the U.S. House vote recently to limit free speech by amending the Constitution to allow Congress to make flag desecration a crime.
One of the most egregious rulings was the nullification of the Fifth Amendment's provision barring taking of public property except for public use and with just compensation. That came with the 5-4 high court decision to allow New London, Conn., to take the homes of people, some in the family for a century, and give the land to a corporation just because the city thought it might gin up more tax revenue.
The Ninth's and 10th's guarantees that rights not specifically "delegated to the United States by the Constitution" would be reserved to the states or the people were jettisoned by the judiciary when it said a federal law could override the will of the people in nine states, including Nevada, who had decided it should be legal for doctors to prescribe marijuana to patients.
The Second's prohibition against infringement of the right "to keep and bear arms," was rubbed out long ago by various local and federal laws banning this or that type of weapon and laws requiring a government-issued license to carry a concealed weapon.
The Fourth's guarantee "against unreasonable searches and seizures ... but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation" was nullified well before the Patriot Act came along. Various court rulings permit random vehicle stops to ferret out drug runners and drunken drivers. Don't forget the tipsy Nevada cowboy case that allows cops to arrest someone standing on the side of the road for the heinous crime of refusing to identify himself.
The right to a speedy and public trial spelled out in the Sixth? Forget it. Speed in our court system is measured in eons instead of weeks or even years. Is it really a public trial if the names of the jurors can be kept secret, as has been the case in a number of trials in recent years? How does one know it is an impartial jury?
Of course, the Seventh Amendment guarantee of a trial by jury in any case where the matter in controversy exceeds $20 was tossed years ago as being a quaint concept obviated by time constraints and inflation. While the 14th Amendment applied the rest of the Bill of Rights to the states, this one was brushed aside.
Tell that guy who recently got 55 years in prison for a first-time marijuana conviction about the Eighth Amendment, which says, "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted."
Just as an aside, while we are exploring flouted amendments, let's not overlook the 27th, which took effect in 1992, barring Congress from giving itself a raise until after a general election. This past week the House voted to allow a cost-of-living adjustment to raise their annual salaries to $165,200. It's not a raise, just an adjustment.
Let's see, what does that leave us with? Oh yes, the Third. That one says, "No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law."
At least that one survives. Was that a knock at the door, Baron?
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