Page 4-Friday, June 2, 1978-The Michigan Daily
omichigan DAILY
Eighty-eight Years of Editorial Freedom
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, MI. 48109
Vol. LXXXVIII, No. 22-S News Phone: 764-0552
Friday, June 2, 1978
Edited and managed by students
at the University of Michigan
High Court chokes
America's press
W EDNESDAY THE Supreme Court seriously
endangered the doctrine of freedom of the
press.
The court, by a 5-3 majority, said that under the
Constitution, newspapers deserve no special im-
munity from searches by warrants. A court-
ordered subpoena gives a paper time to contest
thecase on Constitutional grounds-but a warrant
allows police to enter a newspaper's office unan-
nounced and forceably take specified infor-
mation.
The High Court did not say that newspapers
deserve absolutely no more consideration than
other businesses when a decision is made to use
either a warrant or a subpoena. But the court said
newspapers cannot expect special consideration,
leaving much discretion up to the individual judge
issuing the warrant or subpoena.
This has grave implications for the freedom of
the press. The confidentiality of sources,
necessarily sacrosanct to a journalist, will be
greatly damaged by the decision. If police at any
time can come into a paper's offices and ask to
see cources, obviously a source will think twice
before giving risky information to a reporter.
Also, it's terribly easy for police to uncover
other confidential information they weren't
looking for when conducting a search.
The ruling stems from a 1971 incident, when
police searched the offices of the Stanford Daily
News without a subpoena. Using only the power of
a search warrant to forceably search and sieze
materials, the police looked in vain for
photographs that might have helped in identifying
a group which had harrassed and injured police.
Certainly, some judges will be cautioous in
issuing a search warrant. But since the Stanford
incident-reputed to have been the first case of
police using warrants to seize information from a
newspaper-other cases of forced searches have
occurred in California, Montana and Rhode
Island.
Without the time period a subpoena allows a
newspaper to contest the order to give infor-
mation, the Pentagon Papers would never have
been released. Information which helped the
Washington Post uncover the Watergate scandal
would have been snatched up long before
publication, for example.
The editor of the Stanford Daily News termed
the decision "a sad day in the history of the
American press." And with the new precedent,
many more sad days for the press will undoub-
tedly follow.
SPRING SPORTS STAFF
BOB MILLER ...................... ................ Sor Editor
PAUL CAMPBELL. .......................ExecutiveS r Edito
HENRY ENGELHARDT ........................ ...... Executive Sports Editor
CUB SCHWARTZ ........... .................Executive Sports Editor
NIGHT EDITORS: Gary Kicinski, GeoffLarcom, Dave Renbarger, Jamie Turner,
ASSISTANT NIGHT EDI"LRS: E i sb pre, L z ac -
Soviet dissidents
Sotdsneed Jimmy Carter
By Michael Arkush
The Russians have done it
again. Two weeks ago, theysen-
tenced Yuri Orlov, a 53-year-old
physicist and a prominent mem-
ber of the dissident movement, to
seven years of hard labor and
five years of internal exile,
meaning banishment from
Moscow.
Orlov, who was imprisoned for
15 months before he finally
received a "trial," organized a
group to monitor Soviet com-
pliance with the human rights
provisions of the 1975 Helsinki
Conference. He was the only in-
dividual who seemed capable of
combining rival dissident fac-
tions into one unified movement.
THE RECENT Soviet action is
not surprising if one reviews its
long history of internal crack-
downs, going back to the Stalin
purges of the 1930s. Soviets have
stacked Siberian labor camps
with anyone they accused of "an-
ti-Soviet agitation." Only a
trickle of citizens who apply for
emigration visas are allowed to
leave the country.
The Orlov case is part of an in-
creasinglominous trend in Soviet
internal policy. Ever since the
Carter Administration assumed a
tough stand on the human rights
issue, the Soviets have begun to
worry about the growing
dissident movement. The Soviets
fear the dissidents are en-
couraged by Carter's policy's to
intensify their struggle for
human rights. Thus the Soviets
are left with no alternative but
repression of dissidents.
Kremlin authorities decided to
test Jimmy Carter to see if he
was willing to risk an arms
limitation agreement by con-
tinuing his support for human
rights.
FIRST, THEY arrested leading
dissidents Anatoly Shcharansky
and Alexander Ginzburg. Carter
and State Department dignitaries
criticized the Russians but
nothing was done to release
them. The,Soviets subsequently
apprehended numerous other
dissidents who were very active
in Moscow and Tbilsi.
And the Russians have suc-
ceeded. Carter has moderated his
remarks on human rights. In or-
der to secure a new SALT
(Strategic Arms Limitation
Talks) agreement.
At Belgrade, where a conferen-
ce was held earlier this year to
speeches on human rights during
the first few months of his
presidency aroused many
dissidents to criticize the soviet
egime, and he cannot abandon
them now. In SALT negotiations,
Carter must let the Soviets know
he won't tolerate continued
mistreatment of dissidents.
... even when an
arms agreement is
reached, will it be
worth 12 years of
Orlov's and other
dissidents'lives?'
Orlov
measure international complian-
ce with the Helsinki accord, the
U.S. delegation chided the
Soviets, but eventually signed the
final document which omitted
any mention of the human rights
violations.
SO ORLOV is on his way to 12
years of incarceration and we
still have no SALT pact. And even
when an arms agreement is
reached, will it be worth 12 years
of Orlov's and other dissidents
lives? The Soviets see he U.S. has
weakened its human rights
position, so they immediately
seize the opportunity to continue
purging the activists.
As a token measure, the House
of Representatives voted 399-0 to
send to the senate a resolution
asking the soviet Union to free
Orlov-a measure which will ac-
complish absolutely nothing.
Carter must reaffirm his
strong dedication to human
rights, especially now when the
Soviet dissidents are being
harassed daily. His strong
U.S. trade to Russia should be
used to exert pressure on the
Soviets. Carter and Congress
should push a motion to restrict
the sale of wheat and other com-
modities to only nations which
uphold basic human rights.
Certainly, Carter would be
severely criticized for risking a
SALT accord but more importan-
tly he must uphold the principles
which this nation was founded on.
Not only in Russia but throughout
the world.
Before he was arrested, Orlov
was reportedly standing outside
a courtroom where a political
trial was taking place when he
told New York Times Correspon-
dent David Shipler, "If you're not
careful, in 20 years what is hap-
pening in there will be happening
in your country."
He may be right unless Jimmy
Carter takes a firm stand to pr-
otect democracy.
Michael Arkush is a Daily
staff writer.
LETTERS TO THE DAILY:
U.N. session merits attention
To the Daily:
The following telegram has
been sent to President Jimmy
Carter by persons attending the
recent "Community Forum .on
Arms Control" in Washtenaw
County:'
"We, the undersigned citizens
of Washtenaw County, Michigan,
meeting .. . with our
Congressmen in a day-long coun-
tywide 'Community Forum on
Arms Control,' urge the United.
tates government to give
Special Session on Disarmament
to be held in New York from May
23 to Junte 28, 1978.
"This session, first of its kind in
the history of the United Nations,
comes at a time when world
spending for arms has risen to
more than one billion dollars a
day.
"As the country that exports
more arms than any other nation
and possesses the mightiest
nuclear arsenal in the world, the
offer credible disarmament
initiatives and to give serious at-
tention to proposals offered by
other nations.
"We demand an end to the ar-
ms race."
-Pamela S. Cubberly,
Chairparson
Forum Arrangements
Committee
First United
Methodist church
* Ann Arbor, Michigan
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