The Constitution today: the Constitution has withstood the challenges of a civil war, economic depressions, and great social change. (Civics).Is the U.S. "a more perfect Union" now than it was in 1787? Many people would say yes. The Constitution has withstood the challenges of a civil war, economic depressions, and great social change. It continues to protect the rights and freedoms of all Americans--even in times of crisis. But safeguarding those rights requires vigilance (watchfulness). After the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, for example, constitutional rights collided with issues of national security. Civil-rights groups say that the USA Patriot Act USA PATRIOT Act [Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorists], 2001, U.S. , signed by President George W. Bush last year, violates the Constitution. These groups argue that U.S. citizens are no longer fully protected against unlawful arrests, nor are they always guaranteed the right to a fair trial The Right to a fair trial is an essential right in all countries respecting the rule of law. It is explicitly proclaimed in Article Ten of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Sixth Amendment of the US Constitution, and Article Six of the European Convention of Human . Crossing the Line? Last May, Jose Padilla, a U.S. citizen, was arrested in Chicago and accused of raking raking of an elephant—see back raking. part in a terrorist plot to explode a radioactive bomb in the U.S. Padilla now sits in a military prison cell. But he has not been charged with a crime. President Bush says that Padilla, who is suspected of having worked with Al Qaeda terrorists, is an "enemy combatant Captured fighter in a war who is not entitled to prisoner of war status because he or she does not meet the definition of a lawful combatant as established by the geneva convention; a saboteur. The U.S. " and will be tried in a military court. The U.S. government insists that Padilla is a terrorist and thus nor entitled to legal rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. Is this fair? A recent national survey found that 54 percent of Americans think that the government has either "already crossed the line" in violating our rights or "threatening to cross the line." But according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Jeffrey Rosen, a professor of law at George Washington University George Washington University, at Washington, D.C.; coeducational; chartered 1821 as Columbian College (one of the first nonsectarian colleges), opened 1822, became a university in 1873, renamed 1904. ; many European nations have made much stricter laws than the U.S. since September 11. Rosen credits the Constitution with helping to preserve our rights. "The greatest protector of American liberty during the past year," says Rosen, "turned out to be...the checks and balances provided by the separation of powers separation of powers: see Constitution of the United States. separation of powers Division of the legislative, executive, and judicial functions of government among separate and independent bodies. in the Constitution." What do you think? Has the U.S. government gone too far in its efforts to make our nation safer? Web THE U.S. CONSTITUTION www.hause.gov/Constitution/Constitution.html Web THE USA PATRIOT ACT http://www.epic.org/privacy/terrorism/hr3l62.html |
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