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Congress is
passing some
frigh tening
legisla tion
Bills pending
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Cartoon by Bill Mauldin from the Chicago Journalism Review
PRE-TRIAL DETENTION BILL
. A court may imprison a defendant for
60 days before trial, if it determines after a
court hearing that his release would threaten
the safety of the community, and if there is
"substantial prabability that the person com-
mitted the offense."
The defendant must be in one of four cate-
gories: persons charged with a "dangerous"
crime (including breaking and entering, seizing
property, and distribution of drugs) ; repeat of-
fenders and those who have been charged (not
convicted) with at least two "crimes of vio-
lence"; drug users charged with a crime of vio-
lence; or persons charged with an offense related
to threatening witnesses or jurors.
DEFENSE FACILITIES AND INDUSTRIAL
SECURITIES ACT OF 1970
" The secretary of defense may define any
institution or facility as a "defense facility" if
he determines "its disruption or damage would
cause a serious delay in essential services" in a
national emergency.
This includes "any plant, factory, industry,
public utility, mine, laboratory, educational in-
stitution, research organization, railroad, air-
port, pier, waterfront installation, canal, dam,
bridge, highway, vessel, aircraft, vehicle, pipe-
line."
0 The President may order a federal in-
vestigation of any person connected with these
facilities to determine if he is a potential sub-
versive, and therefore should be denied employ-
ment in, or access to the facilities.
The investigation shall include information
"regarding such person's present or past mem-
bership in, affiliation or association with, any
organization, and such other activities, behavior,
associations . . . past or present, which are
relevant."
This bill establishes a special training pro-
gram for investigative agents.
" The President may summarily deny a
person employment in, or access to any defense
facility or institution if the special investigation
determines he is a subversive risk.
0 Any person under investigation may re-
quest a hearing to review his case. However,
the government may refuse to disclose the iden-
tity of its informants and the source of its in-
formation if the person who furnished the in-
formation is a "confidential informant" or if it
merely determines the information is "reliable.
" The President (or anyone he designates)
has the power to administer oaths and to compel
witnesses to testify and surrender records for
scrutiny. No witness may refuse to comply on
grounds of the traditional Fifth Amendment
protection against self-incrimination, on punish-
ment of contempt of court.
" No court has the jurisdiction to isse a
restraining order blocking the government's or-
der to deny a person employment in or access
to a "defense facility."
CONTROLLED DANGEROUS
SUBSTANCES ACT
0 The bill classifies dangerous drugs, and
prescribes new penalties for abusers.-
0 Any officer authorized to execute a
warrant may, without any notice of his authority
and purpose, break into a home or any building
if the judge issuing the warrant "is satisfied that
there is probable cause to believe" that there are
illegal drugs.,inside which may, if notice is given,
"be easily and quickly destroyed.
0 This bill passed the Senate January 28,
1970, by a vote of 82-0.
DETENTION FOR OBTAINING PHYSICAL
CHARACTERISTICS
0 The government may authorize five
hours temporary detention of any individual to
obtain fingerprints, handwriting samples, voice
prints, hair samples, photographs, blood samples,
urine samples, palm prints, footprints, saliva
samples, or comparative personal appearance of
an individual.
" The government must show that "reason-
able cause exists" to believe that a criminal of-
fense punishable by more than one year in prison
has been committed, and that detaining the in-
dividual "may contribute" to the identification
of the person who committed the offense.
ORGANIZED CRIME CONTROL ACT OF 1970
0 Special grand juries may sit up to 36
months where designated by the attorney gen-
eral, and issue reports recommending the re-
moval of public officers and employes on grounds
of "noncriminal misconduct or malfeasance."
The jury's proceedings may be kept secret.
0 A witness can be forced to testify and
surrender records to any court, grand jury, fed-
eral agency, Congressional committee or sub-
committee if the attorney general requests an
"order of immunity" from a United States dis-
trict court.
The "order of immunity" forbids the wit-
ness to withhold information or records on the
basis of the traditional Fifth Amendment privi-
lege against self-incrimination. Failure to com-
ply is contempt of court.
"Immunity" means that the witness' testi-
mony cannot be used against him in a criminal
trial, except prosecution for perjury.
What the bills n
By FRANK BROWNING ize police to haul any,
and DANIEL ZWERDLING for fingerprinting and
classification.
Suppose you are an out-of-state student Butssi isctti le.
attending the University on scholarship. But it is the less
You were caught in the South U. dis- are mostapatent-the
turbances last summer and were later ficially state one purp
acquitted on charges of inciting a riot. pithusnerouhd 1
Then in November you helped organize Thus, under the Og
bus trips to the anti-war march in Wash- trol Act, a special gr
ington. Last week you were charged with damning reports ec
assaulting a student during the BAM moval of any public
strike and taken before Central Student -university professors
Judiciary on charges of classroom disrup- local mayor-all unde
tion. proceedings. The justi
Under legislation already passed or final misconduct or ma:
currently pending before Congress-sum- or trial necessary.
marized on these pages-you would face Under the same bill
" immediate loss of all financial aid, a newspaper reporter
without a hearing, under student aid laws; tial sources, and the:
* imprisonment for 60 days before your three years if he refu
trial on assault charges under the pend- Or, as American C
ing Pre-trial Detention bill; director Lawrence Sr
0 federal charges of crossing state lines not impossible in ti
to incite riot, punishable by five years in ceive that the publi
prison and $10,000 fine, under the Civil ground newspaper co.
Rights-Open Housing law; charges might be vie
4 wiretapping of your phone by Ann by a sentencing judge
Arbor police, under the Omnibus Crime years imprisonment a
bill; Take the Defense :
* more. than 30 years in the peniten- Act, officially designe
tiary, in addition to any other sentence sive access to defense
you may receive, under the pending Or- cilities. Under the bi
ganized Crime bill. major institution anc
Such a legal onslaught is the easy out- tion line is a defens
come of a barrage of legislation now pour- or facility, including
ing through Congress. It is startlingly highways. So, your un
quiet legislation, which for the most part statistician for the D
has passed one chamber or passed com- and who belongs to a
mittee with little public notice, little pub- is hauled McCarthy-
lic alarm, and little opposition in the investigators, his ever
Congress itself. filiation and friendshil
There are of course the blatant exam- he is forbidden emplo
ples: the interstate riot laws, passed in dent as a potential su
1968 and fully exploited by the govern- er of the University
ment in the Chicago conspiracy case; the ment is barred from 1
pending "no knock" drug abuse bill, which lines, or driving his ca
would allow police to burst into, search, ways.
and seize property in any home without By their breadth a
knocking, on the pretext that the inhabi- these bills will authori:
tants possess illegal drugs; and the pend- investigate, imprison a
ing Davis bill, proposed by* Attorney Gen- American citizen, even
eral John Mitchell, which would author- no crime. Except polit
assa sssme= aasssisisisissesiasisms ssi isssesnessiasssisisesssismaisstaissssissassaisissesissm x.
Laws on the books
Bills
already
passed
by one
house{
0 The court
ness confined for
trial if he refuses
formation.
may summarily order a wit-
up to three years without a
to testify or provide any in-
* A witness may be convicted of perjury
(five years in prison,-$10,000 fine) if he makes
any "contradictory declarations" under oath.
This section eliminates former requirements that
the government have the testimony of two other
witnesses and direct proof that the witness de-
liberately lied, for a perjury conviction.
* The government does not have to dis-
close the sources of evidence used against a
defendant, so he may determine if the evidence
was obtained illegally and may therefore be in-
admissible in court. This section overturns a
Supreme Court decision (Alderman v U.S.
1969).
A defendant may challenge the admissi-
bility of evidence only within five years after
the evidence has been obtained.
* A judge, on the basis of a "preponder-
ance of information" (not evidence) , can decide
that a defendant is a "dangerous special of-
fender" and sentence him without trial up to
30 years more than the maximum sentence for
his crime.
"Dangerous special offender" is defined as
a person charged with a felony, who has two or
more convictions of an offense punishable by
more than-one year in prison; 'or whose offense
is "part of a pattern of conduct"; or whose felony
was "in conspiracy with three or more other
persons."
To determine whether a defendant is a
dangerous special offender, the judge should
place "no limitation on information concerning
the background, character and conduct" of the
person.
* This bill passed the Senate January 23,
1970, by a vote of 73-1.
OMNIBUS CRIME CONTROL AND
SAFE STREET ACT OF 1968
* The attorney general may obtain a war-
rant to wiretap or electronically bug, in any cases
related to a federal offense punishable by more
than one year in prison,
* Any local prosecuting attorney may ob-
tain a warrant to wiretap or electronically bug
in any cases relating to crimes dangerous to life,
limb, or property, and crimes punishable by more
than one year in prison.
* Any federal, state or local official may
wiretap and bug for 48 hours without a warrant,
however, if he decides there is an "emergency
threatening the national security" or involving
"organized crime."
* This act overturns three Supreme Court
decisions which dealt with the rights of the ac-
cused during police interrogation. The law de-
clares that confesions are admissible in court
even if the accused has not been informed of his
constitutional rights, and even if the police hold
the suspect more than six hours before arraign-
ment, in order to get a "voluntary" confession.
... . Any person who has been convicted of
a felony related to a r
qualified from federal
CIVIL RIGHTS -
01
*n Persons may
and fined $10,000 if
use the mails, telepl
television with intent
courage or take part
to do so.
"Riot" is define
once involving the ac
one or more persons
or more persons whicl
did result in damage
persons.
" The same per
structing or interferi
fireman in a civil disor
"Civil disorder"
turbance involving ac
more persons creatinc
danage or injury to p
STUDENT AIDS AMENDMENTS OF 1968
* Any federal student aid which comes
under the National Defense Education Act of
1958, or the Higher Education Act of 1965
must be withheld by a university for at least
two years if the student disobeys a lawful reg-
ulation of the school, resulting in "substantial
disruption" of the school. A hearing is granted
the students before the cutoff.
0 Any federal student aid which comes
from HEW or Labor Department funds must be
withheld for an indefinite period of time if the
student is convicted of using force, trespass or
seizing property in c
ficials or students fr
functions." No hearir
before the cutoff.
* Student aid w
tional Science Foundc
an indefinite time if t
ful regulation of the
stantial disruption.
student before the cut
* No NASA aic
any students or profe
bur military recruiters