Secret military tribunals.
People jailed, but not charged.
Nationwide sweeps for terror suspects.
Those are the possibilities and realities of American life after sweeping anti-terrorism measures were passed in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington.
Were these measures an appropriate response to terror networks that threaten to subvert our security, our well-being and our way of life?
Or were they an official overreaction that threatens the very framework of who we are as a nation, as a people and as a culture?
“Civil Liberties and the War on Terrorism” is the topic of a roundtable discussion sponsored by The Courier-Journal on Jan. 9. We encourage the public to attend.
We have assembled an outstanding panel of area experts who will offer their views and answer audience questions:
- Jonathan Dyar. He has been with the Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney since 1997 and currently is assistant commonwealth’s attorney, responsible for prosecuting felony crimes in Jefferson County. Prior to becoming a lawyer, Dyar was a business broker and served in the Navy; a naval tour of duty included a stint as a supply officer on the USS Enterprise.
- Jon L. Fleischaker. A Louisville attorney, he has been actively involved in creating legislation that protects freedom of the press in Kentucky. Fleischaker was the author of the Open Meetings and Open Records Acts. (Among the media outlets he represents are The Courier-Journal and the Kentucky Press Association.) He has litigated most major media issues in Kentucky, including defamation, access to information and source protection.
- David Friedman. He is a founding partner in the Louisville law firm of Fernandez Friedman Grossman and Kohn PPLC, and since 1984 he has served as the volunteer general counsel of the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky. Friedman’s practice focuses on civil rights, civil liberties and constitutional law. He is an adjunct professor at the University of Louisville’s Brandeis School of Law, teaching seminars in civil liberties litigation and First Amendment law.
- Thomas Mackey. He is an associate professor of history and the current chairman of the history department at the University of Louisville. Mackey’s specialty is constitutional development and the cultural and social issues in United States legal history. Before coming to the University of Louisville in 1991, Mackey taught at several institutions, including Michigan State University and Kansas State University. He earned his Ph.D from Rice University in Houston in American Legal and Constitutional History.
- Stephen Pence. Pence was appointed U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky in September. The Louisville native also has served as first assistant U.S attorney and assistant attorney general of Kentucky. He has followed up an active duty stint in the Army JAG Corps as a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve JAG Corps. He is a former partner in the law firm of Pedley Zielke Gordinier and Pence, and is an adjunct professor of advance criminal law at the Brandeis School of Law.
- David Stengel. He is the Commonwealth’s Attorney for Jefferson County. As such, Stengel prosecutes felonies for the state. He serves as president of the Kentucky Commonwealth’s Attorneys’ Association and was voted Prosecutor of the Year in 2001. Before being elected to his current position, he served two terms in the Kentucky legislature. He was an Army aviator who flew more than 125 combat missions in Vietnam.
- Paul Weber. A professor of political science at the University of Louisville, Weber has published five books, numerous articles, book chapters and book reviews, primarily in the field of civil liberties. (His specialty is in church-state relations.) He chaired the department of political science from 1988 to 1996 and helped establish the McConnell Center for Political Leadership, which he headed from 1991 to 1999. Weber currently is executive director of the Grawemeyer Awards.
The discussion will be at 6 p.m. Jan. 9 at the Speed Art Museum, 2035 S. Third St. The public is encouraged to attend, and there is no admission charge.
