Mayor shares insight on Bill of Rights issues

The East Brunswick Historical Society is not letting the 220th anniversary of the Bill of Rights go unnoticed.

Mayor David Stahl The local historians are in the midst of a three-part series of events focusing on aspects of the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution. In February, Alan Brodman, an attorney and teacher at East Brunswick High School, led a discussion with his students on the "We the People" Constitutional law contest. And in March, Mayor David Stahl, who is also an attorney and municipal prosecutor, spoke on the Bill of Rights and on the rights of criminals.

The Bill of Rights enumerates many of the freedoms that Americans take for granted. The Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendments in particular focus on the rights of citizens accused of crimes. They address such basic issues as the right to a fair trial, jury by peers, protections against unlawful search and seizure, protection against self-incrimination, double jeopardy and the right to have an attorney.

"Law school seems like another lifetime ago, and that's when I studied Constitutional law," Stahl said with a smile at the beginning of the March 15 event, held at the East Brunswick Public Library. "It's been 30 years, so this presentation really made me think."

Then, like a law professor teaching a class, he gave case examples and asked the audience what they thought. Among the questions posed: "The police are not allowed to enter your home, but what if they are in pursuit of a criminal?" he asked. "Police have a warrant to search a house for a stolen 52-inch TV set. If they find drugs in a desk drawer, can they use that as evidence? What if the drugs were on top of the desk, in plain sight?"

His questions led to several lively debates, which Stahl settled. For example: "The police can enter the house in pursuit of a criminal," and "No, the drugs in the drawer could not be used because you can not fit a 52-inch TV in a drawer." He added, "But if the drugs were in plain sight, they could be."

While the language of the Bill of Rights seems straightforward, Stahl noted that their legal interpretations are anything but simple.

"Case law is always evolving, and federal law and state law can differ," he said, adding as an example, "You put your garbage out to the curb at night. Do the police have a right to seize your garbage? Do they have the right to search it?" After fielding different responses, Stahl explained that under federal law a resident's garbage can be seized and searched. But in New Jersey, it can only be seized. A search warrant must be issued before it can be searched.

Betty Quackenboss of East Brunswick, who was on the coordinating committee for the series, said the historical society felt it was important to help make people aware of the Bill of Rights.

"The Constitution gave the federal government a great deal of power. The Bill of Rights was intended to reserve the rights of the people. There was a lot of controversy about it at the time," she said.

Stahl noted the documents' importance.

"It's frustrating at times when we see someone who is guilty, get off because of a violation of his or her civil rights, but it's important to think about all the innocent people who are protected because of these laws. For the most part, I believe the system works," Stahl said.

Among the audience members were Dorothy and David Goldstein, a lawyer. The two brought up several points during the discussion.

"We really enjoyed it," Dorothy said of the event.

Shravan Balaji, an 11-year-old student at Hammarskjold Middle School, was on hand with his father Venkatraman and his younger brother Gowtham, a Warnsdorfer Elementary School student. Stahl commented several times on the good points that Shravan made.

"He is very interested in this topic," Shravan's father said. Shravan added, "I'm thinking of becoming a lawyer someday."

The next talk in the series will touch on freedom of the press, and will be held at the library April 26 at 2 p.m. The special guest will be Charles Wiley, an investigative reporter who has covered 11 wars and has been imprisoned eight times by secret police including the KGB. Wiley is a well-known radio and TV personality and has appeared on CSPAN and CNN. In addition to media issues, Wiley will speak about his days in the U.S. Navy during WWII. The lecture is free and open to the public.