In the United States, we are seeing the rule of law eroded by those at the top levels of our government. We are witnessing the dismantling of the guiding principles of justice and the rule of law. Our legal system has been gamed to preferentially serve the needs of the few rather than those of the many.
The rule of law should be a persistent guard against -- rather than an instrument of -- unfair advantage or injustice for those with power, money and influence.
Our elected officials have failed in their duty to uphold the rule of law. This malfeasance has led to secret law, secret courts, secret evidence, secret budgets and secret prisons under the guise of "national security." There is surveillance of attorney-client communications, unauditable secret expenditures for foreign military exploits, dragnet snooping of electronic and telephone data and even redacted published judicial decisions.
Habeas corpus has been tarnished by the inhumane and unjust treatment of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay including many already cleared by the government but still jailed. Infinite detention has tarnished our legal system. Some dictocrats even argue that American citizens should be subjected to indefinite imprisonment.
Drone attacks in foreign nations are justified by secret legal memos. The president, without any Congressional authorization, can target any "suspected terrorist," including American citizens.
Who has the power to stop this descent into a nation of reckless leadership and lawlessness?
The million lawyers of America do. Lawyers know how to apply law to power. They know how to use the courts and how to lobby. They can cut through the jungle of legalese. They know when the laws are being violated and the remedies for the victims. They know how to draft legislation. They have contacts and resources. It's only a matter of more of them utilizing these powerful tools.
Read more at :-
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ralph-nader/rule-of-law_b_3516830.html
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