On Independence Day, a Renewed Focus on Individual Liberties

By Professor Gary Williams

"I think eternal vigilance is the price of keeping it (the Bill of Rights) in working order." – Professor Lawrence Tribe, Harvard Law School 

I am reminded of the critical importance of vigilance as we approach Independence Day 2018. The pictures of innocent children in cages after our government separated them from their parents could not be more striking evidence of violation of the 8th Amendment prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment. President Trump tweeted that all aliens, even those who may be seeking asylum, should be deported “When somebody comes in we must, with no Judges or Court Cases, bring (sic) them back from where they came.”[1] This disparages the right to due process of law guaranteed to all, including noncitizens, by the 5th and 14th Amendments.

Our revered system of checks and balances, designed to protect our democracy, appears to be in peril. The Supreme Court just upheld the Muslim ban despite clear evidence it was motivated by prejudice and politics, not “national security.” Congress is in danger of becoming a “rubber stamp” because members of the President’s party are afraid to oppose his policies or criticize his behavior.[2]

The First Amendment of the Bill of Rights, born out of the founders’ quest to form “a more perfect union,” allows me to retain hope. The brave young survivors of the Parkland High School mass shooting have boldly utilized their right of free speech to educate the public about their demand for sensible gun control legislation. The media have fearlessly exercised freedom of the press to help uncover and expose to the world, through words and pictures, the family separations resulting from implementation of the “zero tolerance” policy. Citizens have powerfully exercised their right to protest in response to that coverage, forcing the government to rescind the policy of separating children from their families, despite the initial insistence of government officials that family separation was “mandated by law.” And lawyers have effectively utilized the right to petition the government to convince Federal District Court Judge Dana Sabraw to order a halt to most family separations at the United States border, and reunification of all families that were separated by the government until the due process guarantee is satisfied.[3]

The vigilance of those high school students, media members, everyday citizens and attorneys has kept the Bill of Rights in working order. On July 4, each of us should honor their vigilance by pledging to exercise vigilance whenever we can.

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[1] @realDonaldTrump, June 24, 2018.
[2] "What he (Trump) has taken is the legitimate hopes and fears people have had for change in Washington and he has morphed that into -- given the strength of his personality -- a whole host of different loyalty tests about him… People come up privately numerous times a day and talk about different frustrations with the President's style…. His caustic nature, his latitude with the truth, but they won't voice those opinions publicly for fear of reprisal." Representative Mark Sanford, Republican, CNN, June 22, 2018.
[3] “California federal judge orders separated children reunited with parents within 30 days,” Alene Tchekmedyian and Kristina Davis, Los Angeles Times, June 27, 2018