Experts Discuss Bill of Rights

The Bill of Rights needs to be made more effective if it is to be respected, Constitutional experts said in a panel discussion at the Kennedy School of Government Monday night.

Tyler Professor of Constitutional Law Laurence H. Tribe told an audience of more than 200 people that the alleged beating of a Black man by Los Angeles police for a traffic violation should galvanize the nation to a greater respect for the Bill of Rights.

"The Los Angeles incident provides a moment of opportunity for the country. There is a fairly deep consensus that it was outrageous and unconstitutional," Trible said at the discussion entitled, "Is The Bill of Rights Working for You?"

Tribe said the Los Angeles incident could provide a platform to protect the rights enumerated in the Consititution. "There is a big difference between the Bill of Rights on paper and the Bill of Rights Enforcement Act of 1991 would put teeth in the Bill of Rights."

Tribe also discussed the constitutionality of President Bush's recent proposal to introduce vouchers into the educational system. "There's nothing unconstitutional about a voucher system that's very broadly based," he said. "Something may be a terrible idea, but be constitutional," added Tribe, who counsels many in the Democratic Party.

Another panelist, Caroline Kennedy, co-author of In Our Defense: The Bill of Rights in Action, stressed the importance and inviolability of the Bill of Rights. "It affects our lives every day," said Kennedy.

While researching for her book, Kennedy said she visited people across the country who had been directly affected by the Bill of Rights. She said the Bill of Rights should be protected even when it is used by groups many Americans oppose. "We must care about it, support it. I think it is critical," she said.

Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit Stephen Breyer, the third panelist, agreed with Kennedy but said that by itself, the Bill of Rights is not very effective. Breyer described to the audience what he had told several Russian visitors who had asked him, "Why does the government do what you say? Can the government put pressure on you...What about your wife?"

Breyer said he replied to the visitors, "It's not just the words on the paper, it's the institutions we've set up."

Breyer stressed the role of the spirit of the law. "There's no reason that the Bill of Rights can't be taken in terms of a moral code," he said.

Tribe used the example of the rights of the press to illustrate this point. He said that even though the names of rape victims are not constitutionally protected from the public, the press should exercise restraint in printing them. "It's very easy to equate the right of the press to do something with the question of whether it's right of the press do it," Tribe said.

The panel discussion, sponsored by the Institute of Politics, was organized in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the ratification of the First Amendment.