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<p> Feel free to copy this article far and wide, but please
<div id="conspiracy">
<p> Feel free to copy this article far and wide, but please
keep my name and this sentence on it.</p>
<p> The Bill of Rights, a Status Report
<p> The Bill of Rights, a Status Report
by Eric Postpischil</p>
<p> 4 September 1990</p>
<p> 6 Hamlett Drive, Apt. 17
<p> 4 September 1990</p>
<p> 6 Hamlett Drive, Apt. 17
Nashua, NH 03062</p>
<p> edp@jareth.enet.dec.com</p>
<p> How many rights do you have? You should check, because it
<p> edp@jareth.enet.dec.com</p>
<p> How many rights do you have? You should check, because it
might not be as many today as it was a few years ago, or
even a few months ago. Some people I talk to are not
concerned that police will execute a search warrant without
@ -51,19 +52,19 @@ current events together, there is information that may be
surprising to people who have not yet been concerned: The
amount of the Bill of Rights that is under attack is
alarming.</p>
<p> Let's take a look at the Bill of Rights and see which
<p> Let's take a look at the Bill of Rights and see which
aspects are being pushed on or threatened. The point here
is not the degree of each attack or its rightness or
wrongness, but the sheer number of rights that are under
attack.</p>
<p> Amendment I</p>
<p> Congress shall make no law respecting an
<p> Amendment I</p>
<p> Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the
free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom
of speech, or of the press; or the right of the
people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the
Government for a redress of grievances.</p>
<p> ESTABLISHING RELIGION: While campaigning for his first
<p> ESTABLISHING RELIGION: While campaigning for his first
term, George Bush said "I don't know that atheists should
be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered
patriots." Bush has not retracted, commented on, or
@ -74,7 +75,7 @@ you are not a citizen. Federal, state, and local
governments also promote a particular religion (or,
occasionally, religions) by spending public money on
religious displays.</p>
<p> FREE EXERCISE OF RELIGION: Robert Newmeyer and Glenn
<p> FREE EXERCISE OF RELIGION: Robert Newmeyer and Glenn
Braunstein were jailed in 1988 for refusing to stand in
respect for a judge. Braunstein says the tradition of
rising in court started decades ago when judges entered
@ -83,7 +84,7 @@ Braunstein says there is no reason to stand -- and his
Bible tells him to honor no other God. For this religious
practice, Newmeyer and Braunstein were jailed and are now
suing.</p>
<p> FREE SPEECH: We find that technology has given the
<p> FREE SPEECH: We find that technology has given the
government an excuse to interfere with free speech.
Claiming that radio frequencies are a limited resource, the
government tells broadcasters what to say (such as news and
@ -92,7 +93,7 @@ public and local service programming) and what not to say
Commission [FCC]). The FCC is investigating Boston PBS
station WGBH-TV for broadcasting photographs from the
Mapplethorpe exhibit.</p>
<p> FREE SPEECH: There are also laws to limit political
<p> FREE SPEECH: There are also laws to limit political
statements and contributions to political activities. In
1985, the Michigan Chamber of Commerce wanted to take out
an advertisement supporting a candidate in the state house
@ -105,7 +106,7 @@ for the Sierra Club, the American Civil Liberties Union, or
the Chamber of Commerce to advise the public how a
candidate voted on issues of urgent concern to their
members.</p>
<p> FREE PRESS: As in speech, technology has provided another
<p> FREE PRESS: As in speech, technology has provided another
excuse for government intrusion in the press. If you
distribute a magazine electronically and do not print
copies, the government doesn't consider you a press and
@ -128,7 +129,7 @@ cooperated with authorities fully. In return, the Secret
Service (SS) confiscated Andrews' computer along with all
the mail and data that were on it. Andrews was not charged
with any crime.</p>
<p> FREE PRESS: In another incident that would be comical if
<p> FREE PRESS: In another incident that would be comical if
it were not true, on March 1 the SS ransacked the offices
of Steve Jackson Games (<span class="ORG" title="ORG">SJG</span>); irreparably damaged property;
and confiscated three computers, two laser printers,
@ -140,11 +141,11 @@ futuristic world, with no technical information of actual
use with real computers, nor is it played on computers.
The SS never filed any charges against <span class="ORG" title="ORG">SJG</span> but still
refused to return confiscated property.</p>
<p> PEACEABLE ASSEMBLY: The right to assemble peaceably is no
<p> PEACEABLE ASSEMBLY: The right to assemble peaceably is no
longer free -- you have to get a permit. Even that is not
enough; some officials have to be sued before they realize
their reasons for denying a permit are not Constitutional.</p>
<p> PEACEABLE ASSEMBLY: In Alexandria, Virginia, there is a
<p> PEACEABLE ASSEMBLY: In Alexandria, Virginia, there is a
law that prohibits people from loitering for more than
seven minutes and exchanging small objects. Punishment is
two years in jail. Consider the scene in jail: "What'd
@ -155,7 +156,7 @@ bus stops by police officers. Sherman Jones, also 15, was
accosted with a police officer's hands around his neck
after putting the last bit of pizza crust into his mouth.
The police suspected him of hiding drugs.</p>
<p> PETITION FOR REDRESS OF GRIEVANCES: Rounding out the
<p> PETITION FOR REDRESS OF GRIEVANCES: Rounding out the
attacks on the first amendment, there is a sword hanging
over the right to petition for redress of grievances.
House Resolution 4079, the National Drug and Crime
@ -163,11 +164,11 @@ Emergency Act, tries to "modify" the right to habeas
corpus. It sets time limits on the right of people in
custody to petition for redress and also limits the courts
in which such an appeal may be heard.</p>
<p> Amendment II</p>
<p> A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the
<p> Amendment II</p>
<p> A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the
security of a free State, the right of the people
to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.</p>
<p> RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS: This amendment is so commonly
<p> RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS: This amendment is so commonly
challenged that the movement has its own name: gun
control. Legislation banning various types of weapons is
supported with the claim that the weapons are not for
@ -185,17 +186,17 @@ internal oppressors. It is an unfortunate fact of life
that the guns that would be needed to defend the security
of a state are guns to attack people, not guns for sporting
purposes.</p>
<p> Firearms regulations also empower local officials, such as
<p> Firearms regulations also empower local officials, such as
police chiefs, to grant or deny permits. This results in
towns where only friends of people in the right places are
granted permits, or towns where women are generally denied
the right to carry a weapon for self-defense.</p>
<p> Amendment III</p>
<p> No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered
<p> Amendment III</p>
<p> 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.</p>
<p> QUARTERING SOLDIERS: This amendment is fairly clean so
<p> QUARTERING SOLDIERS: This amendment is fairly clean so
far, but it is not entirely safe. Recently, 200 troops in
camouflage dress with M-16s and helicopters swept through
Kings Ridge National Forest in Humboldt County, California.
@ -204,15 +205,15 @@ days, soldiers assaulted people on private land with M-16s
and barred them from their own property. This might not be
a direct hit on the third amendment, but the disregard for
private property is uncomfortably close.</p>
<p> Amendment IV</p>
<p> The right of the people to be secure in their
<p> Amendment IV</p>
<p> The right of the people to be secure in their
persons, houses, papers and effects, against
unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be
violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon
probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation,
and particularly describing the place to be
searched, and the persons or things to be seized.</p>
<p> RIGHT TO BE SECURE IN PERSONS, HOUSES, PAPERS AND EFFECTS
<p> RIGHT TO BE SECURE IN PERSONS, HOUSES, PAPERS AND EFFECTS
AGAINST UNREASONABLE SEARCHES AND SEIZURES: The RICO law
is making a mockery of the right to be secure from seizure.
Entire stores of books or videotapes have been confiscated
@ -248,7 +249,7 @@ NO WARRANTS SHALL ISSUE, BUT UPON PROBABLE CAUSE, SUPPORTED
BY OATH OR AFFIRMATION: As a supporting oath or
affirmation, reports of anonymous informants are accepted.
This practice has been condoned by the Supreme Court.</p>
<p> PARTICULARLY DESCRIBING THE PLACE TO BE SEARCHED AND
<p> PARTICULARLY DESCRIBING THE PLACE TO BE SEARCHED AND
PERSONS OR THINGS TO BE SEIZED: Today's warrants do not
particularly describe the things to be seized -- they list
things that might be present. For example, if police are
@ -257,7 +258,7 @@ searched for and seized. This is done not because the
police know of any weapons and can particularly describe
them, but because they allege people with drugs often have
weapons.</p>
<p> Both of the above apply to the warrant the Hudson, New
<p> Both of the above apply to the warrant the Hudson, New
Hampshire, police used when they broke down Bruce Lavoie's
door at 5 a.m. with guns drawn and shot and killed him.
The warrant claimed information from an anonymous
@ -266,7 +267,7 @@ to be seized. The mention of guns in the warrant was used
as reason to enter with guns drawn. Bruce Lavoie had no
guns. Bruce Lavoie was not secure from unreasonable search
and seizure -- nor is anybody else.</p>
<p> Other infringements on the fourth amendment include
<p> Other infringements on the fourth amendment include
roadblocks and the Boston Police detention of people based
on colors they are wearing (supposedly indicating gang
membership). And in Pittsburgh again, Eugene Tyler was
@ -274,8 +275,8 @@ once searched because he was wearing sweat pants and a
plaid shirt -- police told him they heard many drug dealers
at that time were wearing sweat pants and plaid shirts.
</p>
<p> Amendment V</p>
<p> No person shall be held to answer for a capital,
<p> Amendment V</p>
<p> No person shall be held to answer for a capital,
or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a
presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except
in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or
@ -288,7 +289,7 @@ himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or
property, without due process of law; nor shall
private property be taken for public use without
just compensation.</p>
<p> INDICTMENT OF A GRAND JURY: Kevin Bjornson has been
<p> INDICTMENT OF A GRAND JURY: Kevin Bjornson has been
proprietor of Hydro-Tech for nearly a decade and is a
leading authority on hydroponic technology and cultivation.
On October 26, 1989, both locations of Hydro-Tech were
@ -309,12 +310,12 @@ bank accounts were still frozen and none of the inventories
or records had been returned. Grand juries refused to
indict Bjornson, but the government is still penalizing
him.</p>
<p> TWICE PUT IN JEOPARDY OF LIFE OR LIMB: Members of the
<p> TWICE PUT IN JEOPARDY OF LIFE OR LIMB: Members of the
McMartin family in California have been tried two or three
times for child abuse. Anthony Barnaby was tried for
murder (without evidence linking him to the crime) three
times before New Hampshire let him go.</p>
<p> COMPELLED TO BE A WITNESS AGAINST HIMSELF: Oliver <span class="LOC" title="LOC">North</span>
<p> COMPELLED TO BE A WITNESS AGAINST HIMSELF: Oliver <span class="LOC" title="LOC">North</span>
was forced to testify against himself. Congress granted
him immunity from having anything he said to them being
used as evidence against him, and then they required him to
@ -322,7 +323,7 @@ talk. After he did so, what he said was used to find other
evidence which was used against him. The courts also play
games where you can be required to testify against yourself
if you testify at all.</p>
<p> COMPELLED TO BE A WITNESS AGAINST HIMSELF: In the <span class="GPE" title="GPE">New York</span>
<p> COMPELLED TO BE A WITNESS AGAINST HIMSELF: In the <span class="GPE" title="GPE">New York</span>
Central Park assault case, three people were found guilty
of assault. But there was no physical evidence linking
them to the crime; semen did not match any of the
@ -339,7 +340,7 @@ McCray "confessed" after his father told him to, so that
police would release him. These people were coerced into
bearing witness against themselves, and those confessions
were used to convict them.</p>
<p> COMPELLED TO BE A WITNESS AGAINST HIMSELF: Your answers to
<p> COMPELLED TO BE A WITNESS AGAINST HIMSELF: Your answers to
Census questions are required by law, with a $100 penalty
for each question not answered. But people have been
evicted for giving honest Census answers. According to the
@ -380,8 +381,8 @@ The victims are required to prove not only that they are
not guilty of a crime, but that they are entitled to their
property. Otherwise, the government auctions off the
property and keeps the proceeds.</p>
<p> Amendment VI</p>
<p> In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall
<p> Amendment VI</p>
<p> In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall
enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by
an impartial jury of the State and district
wherein the crime shall have been committed,
@ -422,7 +423,7 @@ against Mexican gynecologist Dr. Humberto Alvarez Machain
on the grounds that the doctor was illegally abducted from
his Guadalajara office in April and turned over to US
authorities.</p>
<p> TO BE INFORMED OF THE NATURE AND CAUSE OF THE ACCUSATION:
<p> TO BE INFORMED OF THE NATURE AND CAUSE OF THE ACCUSATION:
Steve Jackson Games, nearly put out of business by the raid
described previously, has been stonewalled by the SS. "For
the past month or so these guys have been insisting the
@ -437,11 +438,11 @@ order of the court and remained sealed at last report, in
July. Not only has the SS taken property and nearly
destroyed a publisher, it will not even explain the nature
and cause of the accusations that led to the raid.</p>
<p> TO BE CONFRONTED WITH THE WITNESSES AGAINST HIM: The courts
<p> TO BE CONFRONTED WITH THE WITNESSES AGAINST HIM: The courts
are beginning to play fast and loose with the right to
confront witnesses. Watch out for anonymous witnesses and
videotaped testimony.</p>
<p> TO HAVE COMPULSORY PROCESS FOR OBTAINING WITNESSES: Ronald
<p> TO HAVE COMPULSORY PROCESS FOR OBTAINING WITNESSES: Ronald
<span class="PERSON" title="PERSON">Reagan</span> resisted submitting to subpoena and answering
questions about Irangate, claiming matters of national
security and executive privilege. A judge had to dismiss
@ -450,33 +451,33 @@ government refused to provide information subpoenaed by the
defendants. And one wonders if the government would go
to the same lengths to obtain witnesses for Manuel Noriega
as it did to capture him.</p>
<p> TO HAVE THE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL: The right to assistance
<p> TO HAVE THE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL: The right to assistance
of counsel took a hit recently. Connecticut Judge Joseph
Sylvester is refusing to assign public defenders to people
ACCUSED of drug-related crimes, including drunk driving.</p>
<p> TO HAVE THE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL: RICO is also affecting
<p> TO HAVE THE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL: RICO is also affecting
the right to have the assistance of counsel. The
government confiscates the money of an accused person,
which leaves them unable to hire attorneys. The IRS has
served summonses nationwide to defense attorneys, demanding
the names of clients who paid cash for fees exceeding
$10000.</p>
<p> Amendment VII</p>
<p> In Suits at common law, where the value in
<p> Amendment VII</p>
<p> In Suits at common law, where the value in
controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the
right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no
fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise
reexamined in any Court of the United States,
than according to the rules of common law.</p>
<p> RIGHT OF TRIAL BY JURY IN SUITS AT COMMON LAW: This is a
<p> RIGHT OF TRIAL BY JURY IN SUITS AT COMMON LAW: This is a
simple right; so far the government has not felt threatened
by it and has not made attacks on it that I am aware of.
This is our only remaining safe haven in the Bill of Rights.</p>
<p> Amendment VIII</p>
<p> Excessive bail shall not be required, nor
<p> Amendment VIII</p>
<p> Excessive bail shall not be required, nor
excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual
punishments inflicted.</p>
<p> EXCESSIVE BAIL AND FINES: Tallahatchie County in
<p> EXCESSIVE BAIL AND FINES: Tallahatchie County in
Mississippi charges ten dollars a day to each person who
spends time in the jail, regardless of the length of stay
or the outcome of their trial. This means innocent people
@ -485,14 +486,14 @@ days trying to raise $2500 bail on an assault charge. But
after he made that bail, he was kept imprisoned because he
could not pay the $900 rent Tallahatchie demanded. Nine
former inmates are suing the county for this practice.</p>
<p> CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENTS: House Resolution 4079
<p> CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENTS: House Resolution 4079
sticks its nose in here too: "... a Federal court shall
not hold prison or jail crowding unconstitutional under the
eighth amendment except to the extent that an individual
plaintiff inmate proves that the crowding causes the
infliction of cruel and unusual punishment of that
inmate."</p>
<p> CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENTS: A life sentence for selling
<p> CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENTS: A life sentence for selling
a quarter of a gram of cocaine for $20 -- that is what
Ricky Isom was sentenced to in February in Cobb County,
Georgia. It was Isom's second conviction in two years, and
@ -502,21 +503,21 @@ Cauthorn expressed grave reservations before sentencing
Isom and Douglas Rucks (convicted of selling 3.5 grams of
cocaine in a separate but similar case). Judge Cauthorn
called the sentences "Draconian."</p>
<p> Amendment IX</p>
<p> The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain
<p> Amendment IX</p>
<p> The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain
rights, shall not be construed to deny or
disparage others retained by the people.</p>
<p> OTHER RIGHTS RETAINED BY THE PEOPLE: This amendment is so
<p> OTHER RIGHTS RETAINED BY THE PEOPLE: This amendment is so
weak today that I will ask not what infringements there are
on it but rather what exercise of it exists at all? What
law can you appeal to a court to find you not guilty of
violating because the law denies a right retained by you?</p>
<p> Amendment X</p>
<p> The powers not delegated to the United States by
<p> Amendment X</p>
<p> The powers not delegated to the United States by
the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the
States, are reserved to the States respectively,
or to the people.</p>
<p> POWERS RESERVED TO THE STATES OR THE PEOPLE: This
<p> POWERS RESERVED TO THE STATES OR THE PEOPLE: This
amendment is also weak, although it is not so nonexistent
as the ninth amendment. But few states set their own speed
limits or drinking age limits. Today, we mostly think of
@ -528,7 +529,7 @@ uses financial incentives to get states to set specific
penalties for certain crimes. Making their own laws
certainly must be considered a right of the states, and
this right is being infringed upon.</p>
<p> Out of ten amendments, nine are under attack, most of them
<p> Out of ten amendments, nine are under attack, most of them
under multiple attacks of different natures, and some of
them under a barrage. If this much of the Bill of Rights
is threatened, how can you be sure your rights are safe? A
@ -536,7 +537,7 @@ right has to be there when you need it. Like insurance,
you cannot afford to wait until you need it and then set
about procuring it or ensuring it is available. Assurance
must be made in advance.</p>
<p> The bottom line here is that your rights are not safe. You
<p> The bottom line here is that your rights are not safe. You
do not know when one of your rights will be violated. A
number of rights protect accused persons, and you may think
it is not important to protect the rights of criminals.
@ -548,5 +549,6 @@ they are justly entitled. To preserve our rights for
ourselves in the future, we must defend them for everybody
today.
</p>
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