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| | TomPaine.com - A Legal House Of Cards |
 | | This odd synchronicity creates a "house of cards" effect—a flimsy legal structure that increasingly targets marginal persons, petty criminals (not the real terrorists), and even activists—which undermines the Constitution, the rule of law, and ultimately, democracy itself. |
 | | Most of the best-known prosecutions in the post-9/11 era all share characteristics of this legal “house of cards.” This includes the case of Lynne Stewart, Sami Al-Arian, and two recent cases not yet brought to trial: the Eric McDavid “eco-terrorist” case and the Miami “Liberty City Seven” alleged plot to blow up the Sears Tower. |
 | | In three of the cases (Stewart, Al-Arian, and Miami 7), charges were brought under a law that prohibits individuals from providing “material support” to terrorists, first passed by Congress in 1996 and subsequently amended by the USA Patriot Act. |
| www.tompaine.com /articles/2006/07/13/a_legal_house_of_cards.php (1186 words) |
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