The Death of "Due Process of Law"

March 23, 2012 10:56 am

On September 30, 2011, on orders from President Obama, U.S. citizen Anwar al-Awlaki was assassinated in Yemen.  At the time, many people expressed concern over the assassination of a U.S. citizen–the assassination of someone born in New Mexico and educated in Colorado (B.S.), California (M.A.), and Washington D.C (incomplete Ph.D.).  And many people defended the action, justifying it on the basis that he was aiding and abetting terrorists.

al-Awlaki had never been tried or convicted of any crime in any U.S. court.

Up until this point, in the United States we followed the law set forth in the Constitution.  The Fifth Amendment states:

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 in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against 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.

The key phrase I’d like to emphasize is, “No person shall be…deprived of life…without due process of law.”

“Due process of law” is a critical concept in the functioning of any society that claims to hold itself to the rule of law.  According to Wikipedia’s article on the “Due Process Clause“:

The Supreme Court of the United States interprets the Clauses as providing four protections: procedural due process (in civil and criminal proceedings), substantive due process, a prohibition against vague laws, and as the vehicle for the incorporation of the Bill of Rights.

And quoting from the article on “Substantive Due Process“:

[Procedural due process] aims to protect individuals from the coercive power of government by ensuring that adjudication processes under valid laws are fair and impartial (e.g., the right to sufficient notice, the right to an impartial arbiter, the right to give testimony and admit relevant evidence at hearings, etc.).

[Substantive due process] aims to protect individuals against majoritarian policy enactments which exceed the limits of governmental authority—that is, courts find the majority’s enactment is not law, and cannot be enforced as such, regardless of how fair the process of enforcement actually is.

On March 5, 2012 Attorney General Eric Holder gave a speech at Northwestern University Law School in Chicago.  In this speech he defended the administration’s actions and discussed how they unilaterally redefined the meaning of “due process of law”:

Some have argued that the President is required to get permission from a federal court before taking action against a United States citizen who is a senior operational leader of al Qaeda or associated forces. This is simply not accurate. ‘Due process’ and ‘judicial process’ are not one and the same, particularly when it comes to national security. The Constitution guarantees due process, not judicial process.

I don’t know how anyone can reconcile his statements with the above discussion on the definition of “due process of law.”

It appears to be the exact same type of word games that the Bush administration played in order to permanently incarcerate people at Guantanamo Bay without trials.  By simply calling them “enemy combatants” instead of “prisoners of war” or “criminals” they made a linguistic end-run around both the U.S. Constitution and the Geneva Conventions.  The same way that torture was illegally used by calling it “enhanced interrogation.”

Using these kinds of language tricks one can get away with anything and the rule of law collapses.

I’m concerned for our future when our rights can simply be redefined away.

Have Mercy

March 15, 2012 7:21 pm

Recently, Heather has taken to screaming fits when we try to put her to sleep. 

Often, we can get her to sleep and then after anywhere from 0-30 minutes she’ll wake up crying and then screaming and nothing seems to calm her down.  She acts likes she’s just in horrible discomfort.  And this will continue for what feels like forever, but is usually more like up to 30 minutes.

Last night this went on and off for about 3.5 hours before she finally stayed asleep for a few hours.

We’ve tried all our normal soothing techniques as well as feeding her and administering Colic Calm.  There doesn’t seem to be any strong correlation between any of these actions and her eventual calming down.

Usually, once it passes, she’s in a really good mood like nothing ever happened.  And this change can happen in a matter of minutes.

Anyone have any bright ideas about what she could be so upset about?  Or magic ways to help soothe her?

Yep.

March 8, 2012 4:14 pm

One of my cub scouts tried to convince me last night that the earth is made of water. He was very adamant about it, so I felt I had to be equally adamant about how very wrong he was. I’m not at all sure I convinced him, though.

The drgn is a goober. And a bug.

March 3, 2012 8:30 pm

Heather turned 4 months old on Tuesday. So let’s see, what’s new in her life these days? She figured out how to use her knees, so now when she’s standing on the bathroom counter, a lot of time is spent dropping down by bending her knees and then pushing herself back up. And she can still roll from belly to back, but she’s still not very consistent about it. Sometimes she just gets annoyed and gives up.

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She’s found her feet and they are constantly in the air! She almost never lays her legs down anymore, which makes diaper changes interesting. And those little feet are frequently in her hands where she can keep better track of them. She hasn’t quite figured out how to get them to her mouth yet, but I’m sure she will. Everything goes in her mouth these days.

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She just started reaching for our faces a few days ago, which is pretty fun. Except when she’s fussing and stretching out her hands to me, and then it’s just heartbreaking. “Mama…Mama…please…fix it!” It’s so pitiful.

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Oh, and she now prefers being in her stroller, forward-facing, to being in her carseat in the stroller. She can see much better, and she seems to enjoy it much more. She’s so small, though, that she looks ridiculous in it. The straps don’t even tighten down enough to really fit her, and her feet just reach the edge of the seat.

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Her four-month checkup was on Friday, and Dr. Daley said we should stop swaddling her. That’s an ongoing adjustment. She seems to be doing alright at night, but her naps suck. Of course, her naps suck anyway, so it’s not that big a change there, overall.

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A couple weeks ago, she started nursing for much less time (5 minutes on each side instead of 10), so I emailed her pediatrician. (She also started spacing out her feedings, finally, up to 3 hours or so between them.) I’ve read that babies can become more efficient at nursing, allowing them to get it done much quicker, but with the concern about her weight, I wanted to check. Dr. Daley had us go in for a weight check last week, and she was 11 lbs. 8 oz., which put her down in the 12th percentile. The doctor still wasn’t worried, though, so we just carried on as usual, only with more time on our hands.

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Well, at her checkup on Friday, she had lost weight, down to 11 lbs. 2.4 oz.! That’s the 5th percentile and not awesome at all. Dr. Daley put her on an iron supplement (apparently, iron deficiency causes poor weight gain because the metabolism has to run high to push the blood around faster to carry enough oxygen) and said to start her on solid foods! Eeep! So we went out and bought a highchair and feeding paraphernalia today. We’ll start the rice cereal tomorrow. We’ll let you know how it goes!

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The good news is that whatever is causing the weight issues, it isn’t affecting her development otherwise. She’s totally on top of all the skills for her age, which is a relief.

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Also, our tiny apartment is pretty much wall-to-wall baby stuff. Kyle just paced it out, and you can take one step to get from the stroller by the door, to the carseat, to the bouncer, to the glider, to the blanket on the floor, to the high chair, to the playmat. We need more space!

That's right, she's watching you.
That’s right, she’s watching you.