ACLU's finest hour

“In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall ... have the assistance of Counsel for his defense.”

— The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

“One of the best pieces of service I ever rendered my country.”

— John Adams, on his decision to defend British soldiers charged with killing Americans in the Boston Massacre

For these reasons, the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers have taken on the task of assembling defense teams to be available to assist in the representation of those Guantánamo detainees who have been charged under the Military Commissions Act, subject to the detainees' consent.

— American Civil Liberties Union, 3 April 2008

On becoming a Peace Corps Volunteer, I took an oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”

I continue to honor that oath in becoming a monthly contributor to the ACLU and publicly supporting its John Adams Project to uphold the once widely cherished belief that the right to a fair and speedy trial is enjoyed by all detainees, not just the popular ones.

How far we have fallen that this premise should be the least bit controversial.