Synopsis
Defending Rights describes the contemporary struggle for political and civil rights in the United States from the perspective of Frank Askin, General Counsel of the American Civil Liberties Union. It is a book that goes to the core of every American's basic concern—what is big government doing and are they doing it for us? It is a book about law and lawyers, and what one has to do with the other. It is also about politics and how individuals influence the establishment of public policy.
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From Booklist
In describing some of his more important cases, American Civil Liberties Union general counsel Askin exhibits both extensive legal knowledge and self-deprecating, caustic wit. The latter is especially sharp when Askin describes the FBI surveillance that dogged him when he was a plucky young activist in left-wing causes and organizations during the cold war, and when he demonstrates the knowledge, he never gets bogged down in legalese. His presentations of a case involving the right to engage in political activities in shopping malls and another calling for reopening the trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg (executed for treason in 1953) are especially perceptive; and as an unsuccessful candidate for the U.S. House in the 1980s, he affords some unique insights into the inner workings of the Democratic Party. The chapter that will be of special interest to public librarians, however, is "Homeless in Morristown," which details the reasons that an indigent patron--who Askin freely admits was hygienically challenged--may not be denied access to the library premises. Aaron Cohen
From Library Journal
Founder of the Constitutional Litigation Clinic at Rutgers University and longtime counsel to the American Civil Liberties Union, veteran legal activist Askin spearheaded a number of efforts to counteract perceived excesses of the U.S. military and various government agencies, especially the FBI, which were notorious for intrusive intelligence-gathering, surveillance activities, and harassment of individuals. His record of success is mixed, largely reflecting the conservatism of both state and federal judges in the Cold War and post-Watergate eras. But his handling and trying of the cases has been exemplary, constituting a valuable portfolio of practical and clever techniques for a legal strategist defending the constitutional rights of the individual. For academic and larger public law collections.?Phillip Young Blue, New York State Supreme Court Criminal Branch Lib., New York
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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