Worried that due process may be vanquished? Sorry, that train left the station long ago. From The Subway Philosopher at theburningplatform.com:
The left, right, center and almost everybody else are united, for once, on an issue of the gravest importance to citizens of the USA and of the world. That issue is of course the lack of due process granted the legal residents and immigrants currently being abducted on the streets by masked Trump goons and unceremoniously tossed out of the country. The loony left, the based right, the sane MAGAs, the commies, the libertarians; everyone but the MIGAs and the neocons is raising holy blue hell, and for good reason. The common sentiment is best summed up by activist lawyer John Whitehead: “The war on due process is here.”
But with all due respect to Mr. Whitehead and the rest, this is delusional. The war on due process was lost many decades ago. What’s occurring today is merely yet another consequence of that loss. And in fact due process has been inverted, turned into a weapon, such that now it is the abuser state which benefits most from the system initially designed to protect citizens against government violence.
Lawyer Francis Menton writes “If the government wants to take away a person’s life, liberty or property, it first must issue a charge and notify the accused; then there must be a trial or hearing before a neutral party (judge or jury) where the accused gets to present a defense; then it is up to the neutral party (judge or jury), not the prosecutor, to make a finding of wrongdoing after hearing; and then the punishment, if any, must be issued by the neutral party (judge).”
Author Heather MacDonald takes it a step further, describing “…the civilizational breakthrough that is due process. The cornerstone of Western constitutionalism is the idea that the government cannot deprive someone of life, liberty, or property without transparent procedures designed to ferret out truth. Citizens must have notice of a law before they can be punished for violating it. They must have the opportunity to contest their guilt through cross examination, with the assistance of counsel, and through the presentation of exculpatory evidence. If they are found guilty, they have the right of appeal. And, as part of the social compact, citizens cede to the government the right to use coercive force. These procedures, developed over centuries of Anglo-American jurisprudence, represent the West’s greatest triumph over irrationality.”
