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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated
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From: LindyBill4/19/2008 11:25:14 PM
   of 793782
 
Law and Order

By David Boaz on Civil Liberties

The Virginia Supreme Court "reined in police searches yesterday, overturning convictions in two 2005 drug cases in which the court said police had conducted searches based on vague suspicions." L. Steven Emmert, a Virginia lawyer-blogger, told the Washington Post he wasn't surprised: "While Virginia is still one of the law-and-order states, the Supreme Court is very respective of Bill of Rights types of cases."

I think "while" is the wrong conjunction in that sentence. Maybe it should be "Because Virginia is still one of the law-and-order states, the Supreme Court is very respective of Bill of Rights types of cases."

"Law and order" is a phrase often used to imply "tough on crime" policies, perhaps suggesting harsh legal penalties harshly applied. Wikipedia notes, "The expression also sometimes carries the implication of arbitrary or unnecessary law enforcement, or excessive use of police powers."

But law and order are necessary for the flourishing of human life. Advocates of liberty and limited government should not concede the concept of "law and order" to those who engage in "excessive use of police powers." Those who actually believe in law and order would hold police and prosecutors, as well as criminal suspects, to the rule of law; and that seems to be what the Virginia Supreme Court did. So here's to justices who understand that "law and order" and "the Bill of Rights" are allies, not enemies.
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