This has been an incredibly useful discussion, and yet I suspect we have touched only the tip of the iceberg on some of these issues! Just a few quick notes and loose ends, if I may. Stuart, I am sure you have seen this report by Human Rights First suggesting that having prosecuted more than 100 terrorism-related cases, the government is actually pretty well-equipped to try terrorists in the conventional court system. I don’t dispute that there are serious problems associated with the criminal courts. But after the circus at Guantanamo this week, I am more inclined than ever to go with the devil of a system we know.
Joe and David, your thoughts on vote fraud are very welcome, especially given that the hysteria about this issue seems to be on the rise, despite all the empirical evidence to the contrary. So I end echoing the observation that you made in your first post, Joe: The time to fix the voter-registration and voting laws is now. As Justice Stevens noted in his Crawford opinion, regardless of the actual data, voter confidence is ever-more shaky. This has happened for many reasons, and vote fraud is just a part of it. Still, here’s hoping the new DoJ can rededicate itself to safeguarding the right to vote, as David suggests, and here’s hoping that happens sooner rather than later. Thank you all so much for your thoughts and insights.
Dahlia
