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Civics Lesson:Just What Is the Posse Comitatus Act?
Also, up to that time Fort commanders were providing uneven security and civilian law enforcement for westward-bound settlers in those parts of the country that had not yet been admitted to statehood. Congress, through the Posse Comitatus law, was attempting to bring civilian order to what was viewed as too often arbitrary law enforcement, in violation of Constitutional protections. At a Hearing on the Posse Comitatus Act [PCA] Before the Subcommittee on Crime of the Committee on the Judiciary on H.R. 3519, 97th Cong., 1st Sess. 10-11 (1981), William H. Taft, General Counsel of the US Department of Defense, testified, "The [PCA] expresses one of the clearest political traditions in Anglo-American history: that using military power to enforce the civilian law is harmful to both civilian and military interests. The authors of the [PCA] drew upon a melancholy history of military rule for evidence that even the best intentioned use of the Armed Forces to govern the civil population may lead to unfortunate consequences. They knew, moreover, that military involvement in civilian affairs consumed resources needed for national defense and drew the Armed Forces into political and legal quarrels that could only harm their ability to defend the country. Accordingly, they intended that the Armed Forces be used in law enforcement only in those serious cases to which the ordinary processes of civilian law were incapable of responding." Copyright © 2003 The Baltimore Chronicle and The Sentinel. All rights reserved. We invite your comments, criticisms and suggestions. Republication or redistribution of Baltimore Chronicle and Sentinel content is expressly prohibited without their prior written consent. This story was published on August 7, 2002. |
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