Philadelphia Bar Association: Invoking the spirit of Independence Hall!

Three cheers for Philadelphia Bar Association Chancellor-Elect Alan M. Feldman! :patriot:
The spirit of Independence Hall lives on.

http://www.philadelphiabar.org/page/NewsItem?appNum=1&newsItemID=1000467&wosid=SXGT5Bfqup8QQy9pEgNbOg

Bar Leader Questions Bush Spy Effort; Calls for Full Probe
Saying he is “troubled” by the unfolding details of a federal domestic spying program conducted without court warrants, Philadelphia Bar Association Chancellor-Elect Alan M. Feldman today called for a full congressional probe of the effort which was authorized by President Bush and conducted by the National Security Agency.

“I know that we are at war with terrorism and I understand and appreciate the President’s avowed responsibility to take necessary action to protect our nation,” Feldman said. “But the rule of law cannot be ignored," he added. “It is contrary to American law to tap the phones of American citizens without authorization. This bar association cannot sit back and condone this unprecedented expansion of executive powers without Congressional and Court consent. I’m concerned about possible erosion of the rule of law and the damage this does to the delicate balance of powers inherent in the three branches of our government.”

Feldman said he supported Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter’s call for a full Senate investigation into the eavesdropping. "This should be a bi-partisan effort consistent with the oversight function of Congress," Feldman added. The Chancellor-Elect also noted that United States Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor recently stated that "war is not a blank check for the president when it comes to the rights of the nation's citizens." And Feldman pointed out that a legal mechanism already exists “for obtaining court orders to conduct wiretaps.”

“The very symbol of the law -- the scales of justice -- mandates a balance in all that we do,” Feldman said. “We tip that balance at our own peril. We must be careful not to broker civil liberties in the name of security. We must take care to maintain the balance within our branches of government. No one branch should be granted unbridled authority.”

“Above all,” Feldman concluded, “we must be scrupulous in following the law and protecting the rights of citizens.”

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Independence Hall is, by every estimate, the birthplace of the United States. It was within its walls that the Declaration of Independence was adopted. It was here that the Constitution of the United States was debated, drafted and signed. That document is the oldest federal constitution in existence and was framed by a convention of delegates from 12 of the original 13 colonies. Rhode Island did not send a delegate. George Washington presided over the debate which ran from May to September 1787. The draft comprising a preamble and seven Articles, was submitted to all thirteen states and was to take effect when ratified by nine states. On June 21, 1788, New Hampshire, the ninth state, approved it and it became effective in March 1789.

Notable among the document's many innovative features is the separation of powers among the legislative (Congress), executive (President), and judicial branches of government. Also important is that the Congress was split into two houses, the upper house (originally in the upper floor of adjoining Congress Hall), and the lower house (main floor of Congress Hall); the first gave equal power to all the states regardless of size and the second gave proportional representation according to size. You have to imagine the debates between the large and small states each attempting to form a government favoring them. You also have to marvel that this compromise was reached at all — a tribute to the extraordinary minds that were working together to make a new nation that could survive and renew itself in the face of unforeseeable obstacles.
http://www.ushistory.org/tour/tour_indhall.htm