Uniform Police apparently unconstitutional

kawaii ryuko trunks at stackers.org
Thu Dec 4 12:33:21 PST 2003


http://www.constitution.org/lrev/roots/cops.htm

"Police work is often lionized by jurists and scholars who claim to employ
"textualist" and "originalist" methods of constitutional interpretation. Yet
professional police were unknown to the United States in 1789, and first
appeared in America almost a half-century after the Constitution's
ratification. The Framers contemplated law enforcement as the duty of mostly
private citizens, along with a few constables and sheriffs who could be
called upon when necessary. This article marshals extensive historical and
legal evidence to show that modern policing is in many ways inconsistent
with the original intent of America's founding documents. The author argues
that the growth of modern policing has substantially empowered the state in
a way the Framers would regard as abhorrent to their foremost principles."

(Stolen from Declan's Politech list and reposted here.)

Ever lovable and always scrappy,
kawaii





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