To: thames_sider who wrote (2382 ) 3/13/2002 8:32:09 AM From: Neocon Read Replies (1) | Respond to The idea that Ashcroft is riding roughshod over the Constitution is ludicrous. "Due process" is not spelled out in the Constitution, but is a matter of custom, statute, and judicial precedent. It is always the case that public order and due process must be balanced out. There are many of us that think that an interest in substantive justice and the maintenance of order has been subverted by due process considerations in the last 40 years. Nevertheless, those decisions are matters of judicial precedent, for example, the exclusionary rule should there be warrant irregularities. In the case of Ashcroft, he proposed legislation that expedited a few police powers, and did so with legislative authority, when the matter involved alleged terrorism. This does not exactly effect the criminal on the street, much less the ordinary citizen. One can agree or disagree with the terms of the action, but it is still not riding "roughshod".
