The Constitution is Not a Technicality

By Ann

www.religiouswatch.com

In Afghanistan, a young mother took hurried, successive, little steps on a dusty road on her way back from the market.  She was on her way home to cook dinner but was slightly concerned because her little boy ran ahead and she could barely see him.  He would throw a rock and chase it.  Throw and chase.  She would tell him to stay close but he would scamper ahead just as small children are prone to do.  He was about 100 yards away from her when the ministry of vice religious police saw her illegal transgression.  She was walking in the street unaccompanied by any male!
The white pick up truck with three religious officials drove by, screeched to a halt and backed up, almost hitting her in the process.  Before she could explain that her little boy was just up ahead, they got out grabbed the food out of her hands, threw it to the ground and beat her mercilessly.  She would live out her years walking with a limp as a painful reminder of that day.
This scenario, while fictional but based on real events, is the prime example of the evil spawned by an entity which ruthlessly and inhumanely polices the public without supervision, moderation, or a bill of rights.

www.digitalhistory.uh.edu

We don’t do that here.  We don’t do that because we have a constitution that protects us from the whims of a tyrannical government.  We don’t do that here because we have fundamental rights that protect us.  We don't do that because the founding fathers created a document that ensured our civil liberties would be ensured. And it works. 

At least in theory.

For example, a man was suspected of stealing copper.  The police go to his home where he and his girlfriend are inside.  They are both taken down to the station in police cars (in the back seat) and put in separate rooms with locked doors and officers with guns.  The guy is under the influence of something and the girl is questioned mercilessly.  They are told they can leave but they are 8 miles from home in the middle of winter.  Eventually they grow bored with the girlfriend and drive her home.  The guy who is "free to leave" is handcuffed to a wooden bench for 10 hours.  He falls asleep and they splash his face with water until he wakes up.  This plays out several times. He does not get to eat and he does not get to go to the bathroom.  He does not get to go to sleep. He finally confesses and agrees to write it on paper. He would have done anything to go home.  Of course, I promptly filed a motion to suppress (ask the court to exclude the evidence because this is clearly a coerced confession and very illegal).  

The court ruled against my client and held that he was “free to leave” at any time and was not coerced!

 

“How can you sleep at night knowing you get criminals off on a technicality?”  I get asked this a lot and I don’t know how I would sleep at night because the reality is that it’s never happened.  A technicality implies that the prosecutor put the wrong date on a motion or misspelled the defendant’s name.  This is more of an urban legend than a reality. 
In the years that I have been practicing, I have had only two cases where the court actually looked at the facts and excluded evidence which was obtained illegally and told the prosecution they couldn’t use it.  That means that the police broke the law when they investigated my client.  When the police break the law, they aren’t allowed to use that evidence.  Of course, if you or I break the law, we go to jail.  But that will be explored in the next post where I explore some slimy government tactics.

There is no mass exodus of criminals being expelled from the prisons as a result of technicalities.  There are only occasional safeguards put into place to avoid illegal behavior by the police so that we are safe and free from tyranny.

www.gifs.net

Still not convinced?

That’s ok you’re in good company. Some countries don’t buy into our Bill of Rights either.  In fact, famous dictators such as Hitler, Saddam Hussein, Yasser Arafat, Papa Doc, and Kim Jong Il share the same sentiment and they never had to worry about any pesky technicalities.