September 8, 2009

Is High-Tech Government Surveillance A Threat To Constitutional Rights?

Cooley Law School’s Ann Arbor campus hosts Sept. 17 panel on the ’National Surveillance State’ theory as part of Constitution Day celebration

The Thomas M. Cooley Law School’s Ann Arbor campus will celebrate the 220th anniversary of the United States Constitution by holding a forum on government surveillance and constitutional rights, entitled The Constitution and the National Surveillance State.

Developed by constitutional scholars, National Surveillance State is the theory about the United States government’s ever-increasing data collection and surveillance of its citizens. The war on terror is the most obvious recent justification for government surveillance of citizens; the government tapped phones and intercepted e-mails without warrants in an effort to protect the country from terrorist attacks. The potential benefits of surveillance and information gathering are that the government can identify problems earlier, head off potential threats, and deliver valuable social services. However, the danger of a National Surveillance State is that it may threaten personal rights that are guaranteed by the United States Constitution.

This important discussion will be held Sept. 17, 2009 at 1:30 p.m. at Cooley’s Ann Arbor campus, 3475 Plymouth Road, Ann Arbor. The event is open to the public; RSVPs to Allen Chung, director of the Ann Arbor campus, at chunga@cooley.edu are encouraged.

Expert panelists include:

Ed Brayton, a fellow with the Center for Independent Media, which operates an independent online news network. Brayton writes the blog Dispatches for the Culture Wars and hosts a weekly radio show, Declaring Independence, on Public Reality Radio, WPRR in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Dan Ray, assistant dean and associate professor at Cooley Law School’s Ann Arbor campus. Ray teaches constitutional law and frequently writes and speaks on constitutional law-related topics.

In addition to covering the prominent characteristics of the National Surveillance State, panelists will discuss what types of surveillance the government uses as well as how it can synthesize and use the information that it collects. Panelists also will review several prominent court cases involving the legal and constitutional issues presented by the government’s information gathering and hold a question-and-answer session.

Cooley Law School is the largest law school in the nation. Founded in 1972, it operates J.D. programs across Michigan in Lansing, Auburn Hills, Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor. Today, Cooley Law School has nearly 14,000 graduates across the nation and worldwide and also offers joint degree and master of laws programs. Cooley offers enrollment three times a year; in January, May and September. Additional information about Cooley can be found at cooley.edu.