06-12-2013, 06:39 AM
BjornF16 Wrote:No, he was put on trial here IN the USA, so that meets your "in a constitutional republic" litmus test. He wasn't afforded ALL rights and privileges of the Constitution because 1. He wasn't a citizen, and 2. Was apprehended in Mexico where the search of his premises took place.
Not a legalism…just the plain facts.
But I do appreciate the fact you keep quoting me…it's like being stalked…I think that is also a characteristic of NPD. :eek:
The plain facts are the Mexican Verdugo-Urquidez was in Mexico when his Mexican home was illegally searched, his rights violated, and kidnapped to the USA. The gravamen of the legalism hinged on just that.
To quote (stalk?) Brennan (with Marshall), dissenting:
Quote:When our Government conducts a law enforcement search against a foreign national outside of the United States and its territories, it must comply with the Fourth Amendment. Absent exigent circumstances or consent, it must obtain a [494 U.S. 259, 297] search warrant from a United States court. When we tell the world that we expect all people, wherever they may be, to abide by our laws, we cannot in the same breath tell the world that our law enforcement officers need not do the same. Because we cannot expect others to respect our laws until we respect our Constitution, I respectfully dissent.
To paraphrase those dissenters, "In a constitutional republic and outside its borders, even suspected terrorists have the same rights as free men."
Just as regarded the majority opinion in Dred Scott v. Sanford, the majority opinion of US v. Verdugo-Urquidez is "the law," a legalism, not what is right or decent.
Decent people abide by the Golden Rule: "Love thy neighbor as thyself." Decent people respect the rights of people 'round the world.
Evil people, on the other hand, are heedless of what is right and decent and are quite happy to engage in all manner of pilpul, rationalizations, psycho-babble, exceptionalism, legalisms, and brute force to have their way with their slaves and opponents. "Might makes right" is their statist creed. They abide by the perverted 'Golden Rule': "The ones with the gold make the rules."