Not a Suicide Pact: The Constitution in a Time of National Emergency (Inalienable Rights),Books,Free Shipping,0195304276,

	Not a Suicide Pact: The Constitution in a Time of National Emergency (Inalienable Rights) by Richard A. Posner
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Product Details Binding Hardcover Dewey Decimal Number 342.73085 EAN 9780195304275 ISBN 0195304276 Manufacturer Oxford University Press, USA Number Of Items 1 Number Of Pages 208 Publication Date September 01, 2006 Publisher Oxford University Press, USA Availability Usually ships in 24 hours Product Description Eavesdropping on the phone calls of U.S. citizens; demands by the FBI for records of library borrowings; establishment of military tribunals to try suspected terrorists, including U.S. citizens--many of the measures taken by the Bush administration since 9/11 have sparked heated protests. In Not a Suicide Pact, Judge Richard A. Posner offers a cogent and elegant response to these protests, arguing that personal liberty must be balanced with public safety in the face of grave national danger. Critical of civil libertarians who balk at any curtailment of their rights, even in the face of an unprecedented terrorist threat in an era of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, Posner takes a fresh look at the most important constitutional issues that have arisen since 9/11. These issues include the constitutional rights of terrorist suspects (whether American citizens or not) to habeas corpus and due process, and their rights against brutal interrogation (including torture) and searches based on less than probable cause. Posner argues that terrorist activity is sui generis--it is neither 'war' nor 'crime'--and it demands a tailored response, one that gives terror suspects fewer constitutional rights than persons suspected of ordinary criminal activity. Constitutional law must remain fluid, protean, and responsive to the pressure of contemporary events. Posner stresses the limits of law in regulating national security measures and underscores the paradoxical need to recognize a category of government conduct that is at once illegal and morally obligatory. One of America's top legal thinkers, Posner does not pull punches. He offers readers a short, sharp book with a strong point of view that is certain to generate much debate. OXFORD'S NEW INALIENABLE RIGHTS SERIES This is inaugural volume in Oxford's new fourteen-book Inalienable Rights Series. Each book will be a short, analytically sharp exploration of a particular right--to bear arms, to religious freedom, to free speech--clarifying the issues swirling around these rights and challenging us to rethink our most cherished freedoms. Posner, who sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, inaugurates a new series on inalienable rights. The series is intended to stimulate debate, and Posner's work will do exactly that, drilling energetically into a set of issues raised by what he sees as an unprecedented emergency. In the fact of terrorism and the threat of WMDs, he argues, the scope of constitutional rights must be adjusted—i.e., narrowed—in a pragmatic but rational manner. Saying we must balance the harm new security measures inflict on personal liberty against the increased security those measures provide, Posner comes down, in most but not quite all respects, on the side of increased government power. He advocates that coercive and even brutal forms of interrogation should be allowed in proper circumstances, that all communications within the United States should be subject to interception, and that government should have authority to enjoin publication of classified information. Posner (An Affair of State) would impose limits and qualifications on these assertions of government power, but even so, his views will provoke Category 5 protest from civil libertarians. You may agree with or be appalled by Posner's cost-benefit analyses, but the author's premises are explicit, his writing is economical and precise, and he ably makes the case for his side in the national debate. (Sept. 18) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Posner, a judge in the U.S. Court of Appeals, addresses the intersection of personal liberties with public safety that has been strained since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Posner takes a pragmatic approach, recognizing a need for flexibility to prevent breaking our system of laws, national security, and individual liberties. Recognizing that terrorist acts are not easily classified as either 'war' or 'crime,' Posner sees the need to contextualize our responses, adjusting civil liberties to accommodate the need for public safety. Underlying much of the contemporary debate is the issue of which branch of government should decide these issues in times of national crisis--the courts or the executive branch. Posner sees constitutional rights as a function of Supreme Court rulings that are primarily based on the practical consequences perceived by the majority of jurists, in contrast to some perceived legal logic. He argues that judges are not especially well equipped to deal with national-security issues. Civil libertarians may take issue, but readers on all sides will appreciate Posner's outspokenness. Vernon Ford Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved 'A welcome voice in the national debate about freedom vs. security.'--The Washington Post Book World '...Posner's reasoning...is invariably illuminating, and overall demonstrates that the Constitution, pragmatically interpreted, is both sturdy and flexible, capable in the war we are now waging of protecting liberty and maintaining security.'--Weekly Standard 'Posner's new book, Not A Suicide Pact, is characteristically hawkish...Reader either will or won't share Posner's predilection to trust the government in dire-seeming times; there is certainly much to be said on the other side...Posner is far more provocative and surprising when he reveals the limits of his trust.'--New York Times Book Review 'Known for his willfully provocative opinions...the positions he takes in this volume will not only fuel his own controversial reputation but also underscore just how negotiable constitutional rights have become in the eyes of administration proponents.'--The New York Times '...Posner's reasoning...is invariably illuminating, and overall demonstrates that the Constitution, pragmatically interpreted, is both sturdy and flexible, capable in the war we are now waging of protecting liberty and maintaining security.'--Weekly Standard 'His views will provoke Category 5 protest from civil libertarians.... He ably makes the case for his side in the national debate.'--Publishers Weekly 'Undaunted by controversy, Posner forthrightly addresses detention, harsh interrogation methods, limits of free speech, ethnic profiling, and the boundaries of privacy rights, among other hot-button topics. Posner's book deserves to be commended for its policy recommendations, which are almost unfailingly sane.'--Ethics and International Affairs Eavesdropping on the phone calls of U.S. citizens; demands by the FBI for records of library borrowings; establishment of military tribunals to try suspected terrorists, including U.S. citizens--many of the measures taken by the Bush administration since 9/11 have sparked heated protests. In Not a Suicide Pact, Judge Richard A. Posner offers a cogent and elegant response to these protests, arguing that personal liberty must be balanced with public safety in the face of grave national danger. Critical of civil libertarians who balk at any curtailment of their rights, even in the face of an unprecedented terrorist threat in an era of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, Posner takes a fresh look at the most important constitutional issues that have arisen since 9/11. These issues include the constitutional rights of terrorist suspects (whether American citizens or not) to habeas corpus and due process, and their rights against brutal interrogation (including torture) and searches based on less than probable cause. Posner argues that terrorist activity is sui generis--it is neither 'war' nor 'crime'--and it demands a tailored response, one that gives terror suspects fewer constitutional rights than persons suspected of ordinary criminal activity. Constitutional law must remain fluid, protean, and responsive to the pressure of contemporary events. Posner stresses the limits of law in regulating national security measures and underscores the paradoxical need to recognize a category of government conduct that is at once illegal and morally obligatory. One of America's top legal thinkers, Posner does not pull punches. He offers readers a short, sharp book with a strong point of view that is certain to generate much debate. OXFORD'S NEW INALIENABLE RIGHTS SERIES This is inaugural volume in Oxford's new fourteen-book Inalienable Rights Series. Each book will be a short, analytically sharp exploration of a particular right--to bear arms, to religious freedom, to free speech--clarifying the issues swirling around these rights and challenging us to rethink our most cherished freedoms. Richard A. Posner is Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, in Chicago, and lectures at the University of Chicago Law School. He is the author of many books and articles, including Overcoming Law and An Affair of State, both of which were picked by The New York Times Book Review as among the best books of their year. Customers who bought this item also bought War by Other Means: An Insider's Account of the War on Terror The Terror Presidency: Law and Judgment Inside the Bush Administration The Powers of War and Peace: The Constitution and Foreign Affairs after 9/11 Uncertain Shield: The U.S. Intelligence System in the Throes of Reform (Hoover Studies in Politics, Economics, and Society) How Judges Think Customer Reviews for: Not a Suicide Pact: The Constitution in a Time of National Emergency (Inalienable Rights) Rating - I expected better from Posner.... In another, perhaps better world, Judge Posner would have been a Republican nominee for the Supreme Court. His age reputedly barred him in this one. Unfortunately, for this book, you could probably stop at the title, and that would give you the gist. Judge Posner's thesis is that at a time of war, noone can be allowed to second judge the nation's security establishment. Moreover, he argues that judges are particularly unsuitable for the task. He offers examples from history to buttress his thesis. ... Read More Rating - Interesting introduction to constitutional law As a layman I found Posner's book to be a very interesting way to learn about the issues with constitutional law not only in a time of crisis, but in general. He starts out with a discussion on how constitutional rights are created. It clarified many of the questions I had in my mind on how the constitution could be interpreted the way it is. It even made sense. He then explained how national security shapes those rights. He argues for a balance between security and rights. The next four chapters discuss the ... Read More Rating - The Balance Between Liberty And Security Federal Appeals Court Judge Richard A. Posner is known for being both prolific and controversial. In addition to authoring one of the most important academic treatises in the field of law and economics, he is also known for writing on more controversial topics ranging from the 2000 Presidential election to sex. And it's when he writes on these topics, covering areas that are both controversial and likely to be the subject of high-profile Constitutional case law, that he's often at his most interesting, even when you don't agree ... Read More Rating - A book of Habeaus Corpus This is an intellectual approach towards whether or not we allow civilian rights to be infringed upon in times of crisis and what that allows, leading towards an almost totalitarian state by goverment. Agree or disagree, the arguments are presented well here. Rating - The Title Tells You Posner's Analysis is Rubbish The bottom line is Posner's analysis lacks any historical basis or credibility. The "founding fathers" lived during an era much more perilous than "post 9/11" life in the United States (despite all of the fear-mongering by Bush, the echo-chamber mainstream media, and Posner, etc.). Civil liberties have been dangerously and erroneously abridged many times in American history, yet we always seem to not learn the crucial lesson. History has shown that every one of these episodes: Sedition Act (1798) by John Adams, suspension of habeas ... Read More see more reviews See all books by author Richard A. Posner

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