Cooley's GR Federalist Society Hosts Debate

(l to r) Mr. Devin Schindler, Warner, Norcross & Judd; Ms. LeeAnn Ford, President of the GR Campus Federalist Society; and Mr. John Allen, Varnum, Riddering and Howlett

Thirty people joined the GR Campus Federalist Society in hearing two well-known Grand Rapids attorneys debate the U.S. Patriot Act on Saturday, February 18.

Mr. John Allen, a partner at Varnum, Riddering, & Howlett and the President of the Federal Bar Association, argued in favor of the act and its extension. He spoke on the reason why the Act is necessary for the nations safety in a post-9/11 era and why Congress enacted it, the parallel between warrentless searches and seizures in related areas of the law, FISA's oversight, and the scope of surveillance allowed under the Act.

Mr. Devin Schindler, of Warner, Norcross, & Judd, opposed the Act citing the abridgement of Constitutional rights, privacy, and a slippery slope argument including an analogy between post-Pearl Harbor Japanese-American internment camps imposed by the U.S. government and the selective surveillance the U.S. government argues is allowable under the U.S. Patriot Act.

The debate was videotaped and has been aired on Channel 28 educational TV.

Admissions | Financial Aid | Academics | Grand Rapids Campus | Rochester/Oakland Campus
Library | Bookstore | Information Technology | Clinical | Career Services
Faculty | Students | Alumni | News & Events | Overview | Search Cooley | Contact Us

This Page was last updated on: 03/23/2006