December 15 is Bill of Rights Day; what protection, we wondered, would notable attorneys add to that document if they could?
“Each state shall provide adequate facilities to treat persons with mental illness and/or chronic homelessness. There shall be no legal repercussion to those who give reasonable assistance, by taking into physical custody persons who are, or appear to be, mentally ill or chronically homeless. Consent need not be given by the person who is placed in custodia legis. Thereafter compassionate and appropriate treatment shall be given to said person. A hearing shall be held before an impartial tribunal to assure that such procedures are being followed. At said hearing a presumptive release day shall be established, with terms and condition for release to be set. (Note: This amendment would shield one from liability for conduct which heretofore has provided a basis for civil rights violation and assaults and/or batteries, which have stopped the state from being able to address the serious issues of personal impairment.)” Oscar Goodman
The Bill of Rights needs a “Right to Economic Security.” The U.S. is the wealthiest empire that ever was. Meanwhile, all but a handful of us toil under the fear that our old age may be spent penniless, that we will not be able to afford a decent education for our children, that health care may be out of our reach. Wealth inequality relegates most Americans to a virtual caste system. I have an idea to fix this, but it is hardly original — in fact, it has been waiting to be enacted for more than 70 years.
In 1944, Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave a State of the Union address in which he called for this “second bill of rights.” FDR recognized the evil in the concentration of economic wealth and the deprivation of the many to support the luxuries of the few: “Necessitous men are not free men.” Therefore, FDR called for a set of rights that added up to “economic security.” Constituent parts of that right included the right to a job, food, shelter, an education and “protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident and unemployment.” A mere four years later, the United Nations saw the wisdom in FDR’s vision. In 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights enshrined these principles in Articles 23, 24 and 25. It is about time that we step up as a world leader and show that we can stand as a civilized nation, not a nation of serfs and masters. The Constitution needs a right to economic security. Marc J. Randazza