42 online
 
Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 35 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
OpEdNews Op Eds    H2'ed 5/6/13

Bombing the Constitution

Follow Me on Twitter     Message Steven Jonas
Become a Fan
  (21 fans)

The negative outcomes of the Boston bombings are multiple. First of all, of course, were the three deaths. Second of all were the injuries, ranging from minor to life-changing. (As a 30-year-plus triathlete and a former marathoner [although never Boston - too tough for me!], I identified particularly with the runners who lost one or both legs.   Much more importantly, many of the victims apparently do not have health insurance in this less-than-civilized country.   No one knows how those who lost one or more limbs, will be able to cope with enormous costs of physical and mental repair and rehabilitation.) Third, perhaps the most long-lasting in terms of our nation as a whole, is the attack on various aspects of U.S. Constitutional Democracy, reflecting what has been underway since the response to 9/11 which was exploited with such evil intent by the Bush/Cheney regime.

First, let us consider the use of the term "Miranda Rights" in referring to the initial juridical process applied to the surviving bomber (who has apparently confessed). The way the term is used by most reporters, commentators, and politicians implies that there is some special set of rights that were created at some time in the past to protect persons arrested on criminal charges. The implication always is that there is some special set of privileges granted to certain arrested persons, especially "very bad" ones.

But as it happens there is no such thing as "Miranda Rights," no special group of rights plucked out of thin air, or, heaven forfend, invented by some awful (liberal, you know) Supreme Court to protect the otherwise undeserving. The Rights in question are actually Constitutional Rights, ensconced in the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution. They guarantee, or are supposed to guarantee, due process of the law (which includes right-to-counsel) and protection against self-incrimination, before questioning by the authorities can begin, to any arrestee.

The term "Miranda" which has been so widely used since the Boston horror, refers to a 1966 Supreme Court decision that simply said that all arrestees have these rights, whether they know that they have them or not, and they have the right to be informed of them before any possible criminal proceedings may proceed. Thus the terms "Miranda warning" and "Mirandizing." Virtually any watcher of any TV crime show is familiar with an arresting officer saying to an arrestee: "You have the right to an attorney. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you." Thus "Miranda" simply refers to a process clearly and unequivocally written into the Constitution, not any special group of rights. All US citizens have these rights, or should have them, under the Constitution. "Mirandizing" is to make sure that any person has them in practice, whether they happen to know that they have them, and can articulate them, or not.

So when the discussion/debate over how the surviving brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, should be/have been handled, the true subject was improperly referred to, over and over again, as "Miranda Rights," implying that they are something malleable.   And so, the existence of what is now called "The Public Safety" exception, created by the Supreme Court through several cases in recent years (1). It is applied here to the surviving brother of the pair who happen to be Muslims, because what they did has been labelled as "Muslim terrorism," when, as has been pointed out by a number of observers, other mass slaughters, like Newtown, Aurora, and Columbine, done by native white, presumably "Christian," males, are not.

Two precedents have been established here. One is that the Supreme Court can in essence amend the Constitution even when its language is clear and unequivocal. The other is that if one part of the Constitution that is clear as a bell, like the Fifth Amendment, can be amended in this manner, then others could be too. "The Public Safety Exception" has become part of the general public's vocabulary in dealing with arrestees/suspects rights under the law. There may be certain challenges issued in this case, by organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union, but that remains to be seen. In the meantime, that a major hole has been punched in the Constitution protecting everyone seems to have gone on the one hand widely un-noticed and on the other widely endorsed.

Then we come to Sen. Lindsey Graham's proposal that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev be treated as an "enemy combatant." Fortunately, the Federal government decided not to do this, in the case of an American citizen. But Graham's proposal raises a number of interesting Constitutional questions. With whom is the United States legally at war in this case? Rhetorically, of course, the nation has been at war "against terrorism" (which at the beginning of the so-called "War" a retired Army officer labelled as being like a "War on Flanking Manoeuvres"), or against the nebulous (and sometime ally, see Libya and Syria) "al-Qaeda," or against the not-so-nebulous "Taliban." But none of these wars have ever been declared by Congress. So how then would Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, like so many of those held at Guantanamo, become an "enemy combatant?"

Next, while it is quickly becoming clear that what motivated the Tsarnaev brothers was a hatred of US policy in Muslim countries and there are lots of Muslims and non-Muslims who agree with them.   (That is they were motivated by revenge, not any form of "Jihad" [that is holy war] with which their actions are always associated in the media, liberal or other.) Which leads to the proposal from the Right, in and outside of legislative chambers, that if one hears a person making critical statements against US foreign policy, like those that the Tsarnaevs made, those persons should be reported. To whom I wonder. The Gestapo (which had such a policy)? The Stasi (which had such a policy)? (Sorry to pick two German examples, but they do come readily to mind). The FBI (which apparently already has about 500,000 persons on its "watch list")?   Or perhaps to The Helmsmen, of The 15% Solution (2). And then what is to be done with these reports? But we shall leave that subject for another day.   In the meantime, the government assault on the Constitution, under the cover of the Boston Bombing, just takes us one step further towards its destruction.

Historical footnote : It is interesting to me that I did not hear anyone comment on the first name of the dead brother, Tamerlane. There was a true historical figure who went by that name. He was a 14th century scholar/tyrant/emperor/plunderer from what is now Uzbekistan. Strange that anyone would choose to give a son such a name, but that too is another matter.   Except to say that I am surprised that certain GOP Senators have not already raised the question in challenging the competence of the FBI and the INS.

 --------------------------------------------------------------------------

References:

1.        Benoit, C.A., "The Public Safety Exception to Miranda," https://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/law-enforcement-bulletin/february2011/legal_digest .

 

2.        Jonas, S., The 15% Solution: How the Republican Religious Right Took Control of the U.S., 1981-2022: A futuristic Novel, Brewster, NY, Trepper & Katz Impact Books, Punto Press Publishing, 2013, http://www.puntopress.com/jonas-the-15-solution-hits-main-distribution/ , Chap. 10.

Rate It | View Ratings

Steven Jonas Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Steven Jonas, MD, MPH, MS is a Professor Emeritus of Preventive Medicine at StonyBrookMedicine (NY). As well as having been a regular political columnist on several national websites for over 20 years, he is the author/co-author/editor/co-editor of 37 books Currently, on the columns side, in addition to his position on OpEdNews as a Trusted Author, he is a regular contributor to From The G-Man.  In the past he has been a contributor to, among other publications, The Greanville PostThe Planetary Movement, and Buzzflash.com.  He was also a triathlete for 37 seasons, doing over 250 multi-sport races.  Among his 37 books (from the late 1970s, mainly in the health, sports, and health care organization fields) are, on politics: The 15% Solution: How the Republican Religious Right Took Control of the U.S., 1981-2022; A Futuristic Novel (originally published 1996; the 3rd version was published by Trepper & Katz Impact Books, Punto Press Publishing, 2013, Brewster, NY, sadly beginning to come true, advertised on OpEdNews and available on  (more...)
 

Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

Pope Francis and Change in the Roman Catholic Church

Limbaugh, Santorum, Sex, and the Origins of the Roman Catholic Church

The "Irrepressible Conflict" and the Coming Second Civil War

Gay Marriage and the Constitution

The Republican Party and the Separation of Church and State: Change Does Happen

What the Gunners Want: What's in Rick Perry's Pocket, Unlimited

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend