Thursday, August 1, 2019

In Praise of Alan Dershowitz

Over here we have Alan Dershowitz. Former Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard University and a one time clerk at the US Supreme Court.
Dershowitz is a constitutional and criminal lawyer and a lifelong civil libertarian. He made his name in the success appeal of Claus von Bülow’s 1982 conviction, was part of the Dream Team that defended O. J. Simpson. and has represented a host of well known clients that have included Patty Hearst, Mike Tyson, Leona Helmsley and Jim Bakker.
He has written over thirty books covering the constitution, abuses of justice, election tampering, middle east politics with headings such as Sexual McCarthyism: Clinton, Starr, and the Emerging Constitutional Crisis (1998), Shouting Fire: Civil Liberties in a Turbulent Age (2002) and Is There a Right to Remain Silent?: Coercive Interrogation and the Fifth Amendment After 9/11 (2008) and The Case for Peace (2005).
Dershowitz is a also a lifelong Democrat. He endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2008 calling her "a progressive on social issues, a realist on foreign policy, a pragmatist on the economy. He Voted for Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 going so far as to say - "President Obama has earned my vote on the basis of his excellent judicial appointments, his consensus-building foreign policy, and the improvements he has brought about in the disastrous economy he inherited’. In 2016 Dershowitz voted for Hillary Clinton.
His credentials with Team Blue are extremely solid.
However Alan Dershowitz, based on his actions, transcends party politics for he is a true Civil Libertarian. He fully recognizes this as a vital ingredient in Liberalism and will fight against injustice regardless of the political divide that it cuts across.
From day one Dershowitz could see Trump- Russian collusion for the sham that is. Even writing a book The Case Against Impeaching Trump (2018).
He has been a consistent commentator on the Mueller Investigation and has an excellent record of reaching conclusions that were verified by the roll out of the investigation. Contrast this to CNN’s Jeffrey Toobin, who never yet met an analysis that he couldn’t fly off at a tangent to or Michael Avenatti, a one-time go for the media, who now inspires headings such as “I Flew Too Close to the Sun”: Inside the Epic Fall of Michael Avenatti
However Dersh has paid a price for his transgressions. Partisan attack teams have called him every name under the sun and several networks have swept him to the side for favoring the facts over the narrative.
It isn’t easy and I suspect it would probably be even worse for those who have less credentials to buttress the attack defense. However if it is principles that one values then it is imperative that one rush to defense of those who are being wrongly silenced or unfairly maligned even if their individual politics run contrary to one’s beliefs.
This should be a maxim for both liberals and conservatives.
Quote Sources
Dershowitz on Hillary Clinton - "The case for President Obama's reelection".
Dershowitz on Barack Obama - Alan M. Dershowitz (October 30, 2012). "The case for President Obama's reelection".

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