Stability_of_U.S.__Word (1) - Stability of U.S Stems From...

Stability of U.S. Stems From Our Court System
by Walter Bithell
Idaho Statesman, September 16, 2001
The unbelievable events of Tuesday are so staggering and of such far-reaching import, I
am taking the liberty of departing from the normal question-and-answer format. For the
past several days, I have heard many commentators say our American way of life has
been "forever changed." By "forever changed," I understand them to be saying, among
other things, that we can expect to give up many of our freedoms in the interest of
security. The whole concept of erosion of personal freedom in the name of national
security makes me shudder. Freedom is seldom lost in one big sweeping reform. It is
taken over seemingly insignificant things a little at a time.
For some time I have wanted to publicly respond to questions that are often asked of
lawyers that imply we should be limiting access to our courts and that lawyers and judges
should be subject to greater control. This is one kind of freedom, we, in this republic,
have taken for granted far too long. The protections afforded by our constitutional form
of government are only meaningful if our country has independent judges and lawyers.