Post-Election Jitters: Balancing Civil Liberties, National Security, and a New Congress
NEW YORK—On Wednesday, November 13, at 8:30 a.m., legal experts David Cole and Kenneth Anderson will debate the delicate balance of fighting terrorism and protecting civil liberties in the wake of the mid-term election results.
Since September 11, the government has adopted invasive anti-terror policies and practices in the name of national security, including conducting secret deportation hearings, surveillance and wiretapping, and the notorious Operation TIPS program. Civil liberties advocates argue that many government anti-terror tactics like these have served as a pretext for violating individual rights and liberties and that the nation can be both safe and free.
Constitutional scholars Cole and Anderson will discuss how policies like these will fare-and what new issues may arise-as the new Congress prepares for action. Cole will also discuss his new book Terrorism and the Constitution.
Who:
- Kenneth Anderson, professor, Washington College of Law, American University. Anderson has taught at both Columbia and Harvard law schools, and formerly served as general counsel for the Open Society Institute and as the director of Human Rights Watch's Arms Division.
- David Cole, professor, Georgetown University Law Center, and co-author with James X. Dempsey of the new book Terrorism and the Constitution. Cole is also a volunteer attorney for the Center for Constitutional Rights, where he has argued cases including Texas v. Johnson and National Endowment for the Arts v. Finley before the U.S. Supreme Court. He has defended dozens of immigrants charged with being everything from "national security threats" to "advocates of world communism."
- Gara LaMarche, vice president and director of U.S. Programs at Open Society Institute, will moderate the discussion.