The Rights Issue in the Terror War

In “Guantanamo Stonewall” (editorial, Oct. 30), The Times asserts that we may be witnessing a constitutional crisis. We already have the federal prosecutors using federal grand juries to trample constitutional rights. Through the grand jury, prosecutors can seize and present evidence in violation of the 4th Amendment, force unwilling witnesses to testify because there is no right to remain silent, and, if the witness tries to take the 5th Amendment, the prosecutor may give limited immunity, force the witness to testify, then use that testimony to find other evidence to use against him, effectively nullifying the 5th Amendment protections.

Witnesses also have no right to have their attorneys present during questioning, and the accused have no right to an attorney at all, if they are even allowed to testify or present evidence. The prosecutor is not required to show any evidence of innocence when they know it, may use hearsay and is the grand jury’s only legal counsel, an inherent conflict of interest.

The federal grand jury is so rigged in favor of the prosecution that [prosecutors] joke that they can get any grand jury to “indict a ham sandwich,” and indeed they almost always get the indictment they want. They can then threaten to multiply charges in order to coerce a plea bargain, through which more than 90% of cases are “resolved.”

Congress refused in 2000 to reform the system to make it just. I urge people to write their legislators and call for federal grand jury reform now.

Elaine Fleeman

Bakersfield

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U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly does not yet realize we are at war -- a war called “terrorism.” We are just as much in a war as we were in World War I, when we helped our allies in Europe, and World War II, when we were attacked at Pearl Harbor and again sent troops to Europe. We have witnessed the horrific attack at the World Trade Center and have responded appropriately.

Terrorists and the countries that openly court and support them must now realize the consequences of their actions. Saddam Hussein has been captured. Our enemies no longer call on him.

As to supplying the prisoners of this war held in Guantanamo with defense attorneys and allowing 200 of them to return to their countries to kill more of our soldiers -- stupid, stupid, stupid.

Joseph B. Lopez

Montebello