Nation to Face Serious Democracy Fight in 2002

A backlash against anti-terrorism legislation passed following the Sept. 11 attacks will grow in 2002 leading to a fierce struggle over civil liberty issues, predicts a University of Alabama telecommunication expert.

“I think the next year is going to be the most serious fight for democracy since 1776,” said Dr. Sandra Braman, Reese Phifer Professor of Telecommunication and Film at UA. This fight will occur, primarily, in the courtrooms.

“Under the Patriot Act, restrictions to civil liberties include not only typical war-time constraints on speech to ensure that national security is not endangered, but also a reduction in the right to a fair trial, the right to associate with others, the right to privacy, and a restriction of the right to government information,” Braman said.

The USA Patriot Act also gives expanded powers to federal authorities to tap telephones, monitor Internet use and share data among agencies. It was signed into law in October and lauded as an essential step in defeating terrorism.

While a few adamantly and publicly voiced opposition to the bill when it first passed, that number has grown recently and will continue growing in 2002, predicted Braman. As more people begin deciphering the complex, 30,000-word law, concerns will grow, Braman predicted. “We’re beginning to see it among members of Congress and journalists now,” she said.

Historically, restrictions on civil liberties applied to individuals during wartime were applied based on actual behaviors of the individuals, Braman said. “Under the terms of the Patriot Act, however, one need not have done anything at all and still find one’s civil liberties restricted,” she said. For example, permission to obtain a search warrant no longer requires ‘probable cause’ that the person being searched is involved in illegal activity, but can now be granted on the claim that the search sought information relevant to an on-going investigation, she said.

“A lot of this is so overboard, I think it will be declared unconstitutional,” Braman said. “An awful lot of people think this has nothing to do with them and say, ‘what do I have to worry about, I’m not a criminal.’ But I don’t think they are foreseeing all that it could mean to them.”

Dr. Sandra Braman can be reached at 205/348-8657 (office), 205/556-5475 (home) or sandra.braman@mail.ua.edu.