From the Wool-sack

• Publication year: 2002
• Pages: 67

31 Colo.Law. 67 Colorado Lawyer 2002.

2002, January, Pg. 67. From The Wool-Sack

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67

Vol. 31, No. 1, Pg. 67

The Colorado Lawyer
January 2002
Vol. 31, No. 1 [Page 67]

Departments
From The Wool-Sack
From The Wool-Sack
by Christopher R Brauchli

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right

to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury

to be confronted with the witnesses against him

and to have the assistance of counsel for his defence

Article VI of the Amendments to the U.S. Constitution

One of the neat things about fighting terrorism—if there is any—is that it gives you a chance to tweak the U.S. Constitution. It was, after all, drafted by a number of people, and the result is that its provisions could use a bit of tweaking in order to make it work better.

That helps explain the presidential directive signed by George W. Bush in mid-November 2001. It followed close on the heels of another bit of tweaking that took place a little earlier in the month. That was the anti-terrorism bill that Attorney General John Ashcroft wanted. It was passed by Congress without most of its members having read it. That was different from the way the U.S. Constitution was drafted, when everyone read and studied the document carefully before it was adopted. That was because people in those days had more time.

Congresspersons today are much too busy to spend time reading all the legislation that is passed. Not that everyone was too busy to read the bill. Members of the House Judiciary Committee carefully studied and amended the bill proposed by the administration to, among other things, curb proposed radical expansion of electronic surveillance and prevent the government from conducting secret searches without any timely notice of what was taken during the search. House Republican leaders put aside the Judiciary Committee's work and offered up the Ashcroft proposals, which quickly became law after a similar bill passed the Senate.

Commenting on the fact that the bill was introduced and passed so quickly that those voting on it had not read it, David Dreier, chairman of the Committee on Rules, reassuringly explained that it was not the first time a bill had been passed that members hadn't read. David Obey, a Democrat from Wisconsin further commented: "Why should we care? It's only the Constitution."

Although pleased...