Alan Dershowitz
Alan Dershowitz
Alan Morton Dershowitzis an American lawyer, jurist, and author. He is a prominent scholar on United States constitutional law and criminal law, and a leading defender of civil liberties. He spent most of his career at Harvard Law School where in 1967, at the age of 28, he became the youngest full professor of law in its history. He held the Felix Frankfurter professorship there from 1993 until his retirement in December 2013...
ProfessionLawyer
Date of Birth1 September 1938
CityNew York City, NY
jew
I am a peace supporting Jew.
ideas people desert
Ideas don't desert you; ideas aren't treasonous to you, but people can be.
attitude law important
Laws are important precisely because in a democracy they reflect the attitudes and aspirations of those they govern.
trying democracy truth-is
Most liberal democracies don't try to figure out what the truth is.
doubt criminals trials
Scientists search for truth. Philosophers search for morality. A criminal trial searches for only one result: proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
borders internet national-borders
The Internet knows no national borders.
believe academic-freedom professors
I don't believe in firing professors. They have academic freedom.
jobs justice defense
The defendant wants to hide the truth because he's generally guilty. The defense attorney's job is to make sure the jury does not arrive at that truth.
hypocrisy accountability political
Candor and accountability in a democracy is very important. Hypocrisy has no place.
lasts resorts court
The court of last resort is no longer the Supreme Court. It's 'Nightline.'
people insane ill
Well, many insane people and seriously mentally ill people seem very reasonable.
intolerance terrible display
When you discriminate against anyone, you discriminate against everyone. It's a display of terrible intolerance.
gun liberty protect
There's no evidence that I'm aware of that guns protect liberty.
numbers justice accountability
If torture is going to be administered as a last resort in the ticking-bomb case, to save enormous numbers of lives, it ought to be done openly, with accountability, with approval by the president of the United States or by a Supreme Court justice.