American Bar Association To Oppose Domestic Spying
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CHICAGO, Feb.10, 2006 – According to a poll commissioned by the American Bar Association and released today, 52 percent of respondents said that in the fight against terrorism, the President of the United States alone cannot suspend constitutional freedoms, with an additional 25 percent saying he must obtain authorization by a court of law or Congress. Thus 77 percent of Americans express deep reservations about the president’s secret surveillance program. The telephone poll conducted by Harris Interactive® over the past weekend found that only 18 percent of respondents believe the president can suspend constitutional freedoms "anytime the President thinks it is necessary to protect the country." "While everyone agrees on the need for aggressive deterrence of terrorism, the disclosure of unchecked domestic spying by the president is deeply troubling to many Americans," said ABA President Michael S. Greco, who released the poll results today in a news conference during the ABA’s 2006 Midyear Meeting in Chicago. "Our Founders gave us a government that can act swiftly in times of danger, but also protect our basic freedoms. It’s very encouraging that Americans understand and insist on preserving that balance," he said. Clearly, Greco said, the poll results demonstrate that Americans are deeply interested in and alarmed by issues raised by secret spying on citizens’ communications by the National Security Agency. "It is a time when we should be having conversations about our constitutional freedoms as well as our security," he said. He invited members of the public to download their own free copy of the Constitution and learn more about the Constitution and presidential war powers at http://abaconstitution.org, and to express their own views on domestic surveillance in a separate poll available there. In a separate question, 45 percent said that in the fight against terrorism the government would never be justified in eavesdropping on their own personal communications without approval by a court or Congress. When presented with specific reasons that might justify monitoring personal communications, 22 percent said it would be justified by an anonymous tip that they may be helping to plan a terrorist attack in the U.S.; 21 percent said it would be justified if someone suspected they may be sending money to a terrorist organization, and eight percent said it would be justified if the person was a member or supporter of an organization which has publicly criticized the President. Respondents were allowed to choose more than one reason. Additionally, Greco released a policy proposal that is to be presented to the ABA House of Delegates on Monday, when it convenes during the ABA’s 2006 Midyear Meeting in Chicago. The report will not constitute ABA policy until it is adopted by the House of Delegates. The report was submitted by a Task Force on Domestic Surveillance created by Greco in January to respond to revelations about NSA domestic surveillance. A roster of task force members, which includes a former Director of the FBI, former General Counsel of the CIA and former Counsel of the National Security Agency, is available at http://www.abanet.org/op/domsurv. The proposal includes six clauses, which would:
The public opinion poll results were produced in a nationwide poll of 1,045 U.S. adults aged 18 or over surveyed by telephone between Feb. 3 and 6, 2006, by Harris Interactive®. In theory, with probability samples of this size, one could say with 95 percent certainty that the results have a sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points of what they would be if the entire U.S. adult population had been polled with complete accuracy. Full poll results are available on the ABA Web site at http://www.abanews.org/docs/surveillancepoll06.pdf. With more than 407,000 members, the American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world. As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law in a democratic society. -30- Editors Note: During the Midyear Meeting a press room for working journalists will be in the Hyatt Regency Chicago, Riverside Center, Purple Level, East Tower. It will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. It will close one hour after the adjournment of the House of Delegates on Monday, Feb. 13. Beginning Feb. 9, the press room phone number will be 312/239-4835 and the Fax number will be 312/239-4846. Harris Interactive® Harris Interactive Inc. (www.harrisinteractive.com), based in Rochester, New York, is the 13th largest and the fastest-growing market research firm in the world, most widely known for The Harris Poll® and for its pioneering leadership in the online market research industry. Long recognized by its clients for delivering insights that enable confident business decisions, the Company blends the science of innovative research with the art of strategic consulting to deliver knowledge that leads to measurable and enduring value. Harris Interactive serves clients worldwide through its United States, Europe (www.harrisinteractive.com/europe) and Asia offices, its wholly-owned subsidiary Novatris in Paris, France (www.novatris.com), and through an independent global network of affiliate market research companies. EOE M/F/D/V |
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