The government is rapidly moving to destroy human rights and the basic fundamental freedoms we hold dear in the name of fighting the coronavirus. This is far more severe than an outbreak. Enslaving humanity should never be the solution to a problem. However, the justice department thinks this request is acceptable. They are asking Congress to allow the U.S. attorney general to ask courts to suspend court proceedings. These include "any statutes or rules of procedure otherwise affecting pre-arrest, post-arrest, pre-trial, trial, and post-trial procedures in criminal and juvenile proceedings and all civil process and proceedings," reports Betsy Woodruff Swan, citing DOJ documents presented to Congress.
Basic human rights are in danger of being severely diminished if not outright destroyed. If Congress approves this power grab (and I wouldn't put it past them) totalitarianism is in our very near future.
The Justice Department would be able to postpone trials, hearings, and other procedural steps that follow an arrest. That represents a potentially huge violation of the constitutional right to a speedy trial.
Those powers would apply "whenever the district court is fully or partially closed by virtue of any natural disaster, civil disobedience, or other emergency situation," Woodruff Swan writes, and would remain in place for "one year following the end of the national emergency." -Reason
The solutions by governments to this outbreak have already shown to be direr than the actual virus. That's not to say people are not dying and getting infected, but the aftermath of this will have repercussions for our children and fascist country we are leaving to them.
The right to see a judge and seek release from detention after an arrest — known in legal lingo as habeas corpus — is one of the fundamental building blocks of a democratic society, one in which the state cannot deprive individuals of their freedom without due process. The times in American history when that right has been suspended or circumvented are some of the darkest. We should not be seeking to repeat them. -ReasonWhile the liberty movement appears to have vanished in the name of stopping the spread of the coronavirus, some still remain and are voicing their concerns. A pandemic is still no excuse for totalitarianism and the enslavement of mankind by any government or other person claiming authority. History has shown us that these power grabs are not temporary.
"The DOJ proposal is deeply troubling and would raise a whole host of constitutional concerns," says Scott Bullock, president and general counsel for the Institute for Justice, a libertarian law firm. "History demonstrates again and again that governments use a crisis to expand power and violate vital constitutional principles. And when the supposed emergency is over, the expanded powers often become permanent.
"If history is any indication, it's a near certainty that these powers will be abused and that DOJ will try to hide those abuses when they occur," says Clark Neily, the vice president for criminal justice at the Cato Institute. "This is simply not an agency that has earned the kind of trust implied by these requests for increased authority and discretion."
It's also unclear how allowing indefinite detention would help fight the coronavirus outbreak. It seems more likely that the DOJ is learning from members of Congress and the president that the crisis provides a convenient excuse to ask for things it already wanted in the first place. -Reason
Reader Comments
How easily we forget that those awaiting trial are innocent until proven guilty. Those in power should reconsider the effects of closing down all the courts. I would rather a system which actively brings to trial any suspect of a violent crime as being more of a threat to society than the possibility of contracting a mini flu virus. If suspects are not considered a threat to society, then they do not need to be remanded.