Certain Unalienable Rights

By Shannon

I know I’m supposed to be writing about technicalities in the criminal justice system, but if you don’t mind there’s something more pressing on my mind today. 

First, let me say in response to Ann’s moving (seriously her stories made my eyes tear up!) post from yesterday that prosecutors (most of us) venerate the Constitution.  It should be the highest goal of every lawyer, every politician, and every citizen to not only adhere to and honor the ideals set forth in that magnificent document, but to hold our representatives, officers, and lawyers feet to the fire if they dare ignore or dismiss the Constitution.  I am lucky.  My first job as a prosecutor was for a DA who had been a defense attorney for many years and still thought as a defense attorney.  I then went out on my own for a bit as a defense attorney and that has served me well in my return to prosecution.  I am much more sensitive to and careful with the rights of each defendant.  I now work for a DA who is a man of integrity.  He’s so ethical that when an officer is fired for dishonesty their cases are dismissed.  PERIOD.  Even if the officer is fired for lying about something that has nothing to do with a case, my boss dismisses his cases.  If an officer will lie about something insignificant, won’t they lie about something significant?  Most cops I know prize honesty and protect their reputation by making integrity a priority.  When an officer fails to do so, he needs to find something else to do.  If a prosecutor is willing to win AT ALL COSTS, they need to find something else to do because JUSTICE is all that matters.

Second, let me say that I am shaking with anger as I write to you today.  Today the subject of the Egyptian riots came up while we were visiting during court.  I told a group of attorneys that for the first time I understand that America has been known to get into bed with despots for the sake “stability” – the people of that nation be damned.  It turns my stomach.  If we are truly “the land of the free and the home of the brave,” we MUST be brave enough to choose what is right NOT what is expedient.  I was told today that stability is important because it protects our interests.  I get that stability is expedient, but I believe we have more interest in protecting people.  There’s no excuse for helping put in office and/or financially supporting despots with a record of human rights violations including torture.  I was then told by several attorneys that “human rights” is a made-up thing that “does not exist in nature.”  In fact one told me that the “only law in nature is that the strong survive and make servants of the weak.”  Let’s examine that.

Our Founding Fathers were influenced by the Greek philosophers, Locke, Cicero, and others.  All of these including our Fathers believed in something called “Natural Law.” 

“True law [also called Natural law] is of universal application, unchanging and everlasting; it summons duty by its commands, and averts from wrongdoing by its prohibitions…. It is impossible to abolish it entirely.  There will not be different laws at Rome and at Athens, or different laws now and in the future, but one eternal and unchangeable law will be valid for all nations and all times….”  ~ Cicero

“The state of Nature has a law of Nature to govern it, which… teaches all mankind… no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty or possessions…. there cannot be supposed any such subordination among us that may authorize us to destroy one another.” ~ Locke

Natural Law is evident throughout our Declaration of Independence:

Pic from www.archives.gov

“When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people… to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.  We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by the Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."  Notice that there is no right to happiness itself, but there is a right to pursue happiness.

Not only do human rights exist, they are the foundation of our nation.  Even if “human rights” is a made up concept, isn’t it an ideal that we should strive for?  The world will never change – indeed cannot be changed – until we are willing to make the hard choices and stand up for what is right NOT what is expedient.  Don’t we all dream of a better world?  Don’t we at least dream of a better nation? 

I couldn’t understand how we’d gotten ourselves into a position that required our President to either side with a despot for the sake of stability or to ask an ally to step down for the sake of his people.  I am ashamed that any of our leaders ever chose what was expedient over what was right thereby putting today’s President in a position to have to choose between those two options.  

I may be idealistic in believing that we can change the world, but in the words of Robert Kennedy, “Some men see things as they are and ask why.  I dream things that never were and ask why not.”  I know I am not alone.  For the sake of humanity, choose what is right over what is expedient even if what is right is a harder road to travel and one that costs you more personally.  Demand your government do the same.

Pic from www.guardian.co.uk