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    Closing Argument PDF

    Uploaded by

    Jerlo Kevin RIalp

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 6
    444 ALAN DERSHOWITZ to stop suffering was not so serious. The UN could have intervened more quickly and vigorously and saved millions of lives during ongoing geno- cides. Itis a broken institution. Until it ends its obsession with Israel, the ‘UN cannot be fixed. Even some of its top officials recognize this reality, but their hands are tied, because anti-Israel (and anti-American) countries constitute a majority of the UN membership, thus giving anti-Israel reso- lutions an automatic majority ‘The UN willremain key faciltator—through its actions andinactions— of the tragic inversion of human rights that has characterized its work pe ealvcns oftsinversonkavot been sd ano Wet democracies that have been the specific focus ofthe UN condemnations. “The real victims have been those willfully ignored by the UN, which has ‘used its focus on Israel and other democracies as an excuse—a cover—for its malignant inaction against horrible human wrongs committed by the tyrannical regimes that control much of the UN agenda and give them: selves exculpatory immunity from any UN condemnations or interven- tion, “Never again” has been turned into “Again and again and again: ‘The label of “buman rights” has been used to promote human wrongs. Our heroes—Bleanor Roosevelt, René Cassin, Albert Schweitzer—should bbe turning over in their graves, as the shields they constructed to protect the helpless from oppression and genocide have been beaten into swords 10 be used to facilitate these human wrongs. Tragically, many, if not most, organizations that currently claim the ‘mantle of “human rights” are part ofthe problem, not part ofthe solution, I refuse to allow these human rights pretenders to hijack and invert the honorable agent ofneatral and universal umn sights Liles us ‘ging until my dying day to return human sights to its proper place in the international community, CONCLUSION Closing Argument 51 begin my second half century of law practice and teaching, 1 A& Deck wh noni nd ary don segs oh and career, even as look forward to my remaining years. I try to Prepare my students to be lawyers over their entirecareers. And since the career ofa lawyer now extends to a full half century, I must always think ahead to what our legal system will look like when my current students end their careers, around the year 2065, when they will reach the age I ‘am at now. Some of my former students are now inthe prime oftheir ce- teers, and have many more productive yeats ahead, One example is Elena Kagan, who may still be serving as a justice ofthe Supreme Court close to the middle of the twenty-first century. { could not have asked for better from my frst haf century. Thave ac- ‘complished far more than T could ever have anticipated, and 1 have had 4 more interesting life than T could ever have imagined, growing up as 1 did in an insular working class neighborhood of 3rooklyn. Like many children and grandchildren of hardworking immigrants, I have lived the American dream and experienced the passion of my times. Ive been very lucky, at least so far. (I don't want to give myself a hneina hura)? Like the fictional Zelig in Woody Allen's great film of that name,’ I was privileged to have been present at many of the most important legal and political ‘events that transpired during my adult life. For some I volunteered, for ‘others Iwas solicited. Sometimes l was 2 direct participant, other times an active observer and reporter. I will try to summarize my role in the im- Portant legal and political developments in which I participated, and spec ‘ulate about what the future may hold for our system of laws and justice 446 ALAN DERSHOWITZ Oliver Wendell Holmes, jr, viewed the role ofthe lawyer asa predictor ‘of future legal decisions and trends But the Talmud cautioned that proph- ‘ecy ended with the destruction of the second temple and that he who tries to propesy the frre is ether a fol or aknave Or a= contemporry sage Yogi Berra, pur "redicion i very hard, expeily abou the furure:” | agree thac prognosticating the Future is @ daunting challenge, ‘but lawyers and law professors must contftont it, because one of the most important jobs we have is to identify trends and to anticipate significant developments. I will try, therfore, with these cautions in mind, £0 €x ‘trapolate from the past what a lawyer writing fifty years from now might Took back on. MY CURRENT LIFE Before I summarize my past and speculate about the future, let me say a word about my present life. I remain extremely active in every phase of ‘my career. Here isa summary ofthe week during which first wrote these ound ern iced py in nd ton ie Ba ford airport, where I boarded a private 747 et owned by Sheldon Adelson, reputed to be one ofthe richest Jews in history and among the handful of wealthiest Americans. Although we could not be Further apart polt- cally he is a conservative Republican who contributed tens of millions of dollars to the campaigns of Newt Gingrich and Mitt Ronney, while 1 am a liberal Democrat who campaigned for Barack Obama—we share a common interest regarding many Jewish matters, éspecially education "The son ofa Boston cabsiriver, Adelson has accumulated billions of dollars by building and running casinos in Las Vegas, Macao, and Singapore and has contributed much ofhis wealth to worthy charities. Hisjet, which was once owned by the sultan of Brune, isa flying mansion, equipped with 4 bedroom, sitting rooms, a chef, and other appurtenances of wealth and glamour. I spent much ofthe tip conferring with Sheldon and his wife, Dr. Miriam Adelson, who is an expert in addiction and the psychological problems associated with drug dependency, As we were about to land, | was invited into the cockpit, where I saw the Hoover Dam and other sights on the approach to Las Vegas. Upon arriving I was taken tothe Dr Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Educational Campus and shown around. “Then I was picked up by Larry Ruvo, who wanted me to see the brain in- stirure that architect Frank Gehry had builtin his father’s memory. Ravo TAKING THE sTAND 407 Credits me with helping to get this project done, fer the loa university an out of money and broke its agreement wit him. I wrore a ey letter on his behalf, and the result was =| an arrangement with the Cleveland Gi: ne of the great medical instuions in the worl. After touring the facility, I went to the Venetian Hotel, where | spoke on behalf ofthe Adelson Day School and was honored with a beavtful plague made trons ‘Jerusalem stone, ‘The students of the school presented me with a hook of drawings that they had done in my honor, representing their veweeg justice. (Later that week, I passed the book arouné tothe college studentg in my seminar on morality) At ro eat, Twas taken to the airport, where a smaller jet—a Gulfstream—was waiting to fy me back to New York, where I arrived at 5:30 a. Following afew hours of sleepin my New York apartment, Iwas picked up by & paralegal and driven to the women's jail on Rikers Island, where | spent the morning conferring with my client GigiJordan, who is accused ofrmarder. She killed her autistic son and tried to kil herself after learning that her child had been repeatedly abused, both sexaally and physically, by his biological father, and after unsuccessfully secki government and social service agencies. After returning from Rikers Island, I was driven to Brooklyn Col lege, where my legal and personal papers—more than a million of them in sixteen hundred boxes—were being opened for public viewing. lam contributing all of my papers to my alma mater. Imade a talk about the Papers and my experiences at Brooklyn College toa crowd that included ry wife and sons, old fiends, classmates, curret and former faculty members, and current students It was a thrilling experience for me to g0 ‘back more than half a century to the college that meant so much to me and to express my appreciation to people who so in tuenced my life (On Tuesday I appeared in New York State Supreme Court on behalf of ‘ny client Gigi Jordan and made arguments in preparation for her erat Following that court appearance, I boarded the Acela train and went home for a good long night’ sleep (On Wednesday morning I met with the chief prosecutor of the Intel- national Criminal Court, Luis Moreno Ocampo, for breakfast. He had invited me to discuss with him the then-pending application of the Pales Uinian Authority to be recognized asa state by the International Criminal Court, in order to bring charges against Israel for the war in Gaza and {for building settlements in the West Bank. We had a long and fruitful discussion. ing help from numerous ALAN punsHowrrz as where I prepared for my frst clas went back to the aw school “ ae ‘Legal Ethics course from 1 to 3 p.m, Before class | had a short ao dining room, where I sat with an old friend, Michael rae a {sa judge on the US. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ee mnct member of out faculty. The first half of the Legal Ethics an a ee jevoted to discussing the diffcule problem of what it eae shysical evidence the possession of ‘when a lint gives him phys Sn we cere Sucheviens might ince eos of hid hi ey stolen goods, or other contraband. We considered a case ao myer had Been ld wher scent buried the body ge set had mdr adhe mre wr oko oe ‘or to the police. We also discussed the Joe Paterno case, a Pai he news and which raised questions regarding obligations to Was then ig misconduct During the second hour, Prosecutor Ocampo er appearance in the classroom odiscussthica problems faced rade a bry prosecutors. The class ended with discussion about the Fa fdentalty and what a lawyer should do ifhis client claims ee i ould Like 10 tently as to is innocence, but the lawyer occ estat els gully La fair ! he wring for my next seminar, ar cat tapes an hou repaing stirs orien at Hd alge The es i we out Moat Come Hom and we dicted the mor ‘on spying and other forms of subterfuge directed against enemy limits coerright from class went tothe Huntington Theater, where hadbeen jf Eichmann Tspeat, acon aplay about the capture of Ad ae orn Oa a responding to questions from tan our on the stage speaking and responding. son ar andthe sudience about the legal roe growing ost ofthe the director an sure and trial by Israel. oe caroraday was essentially my day of rest, I spent the day rng pres ingesting ose Pog, co pctuding this book. Thursday night was my only night oft =e coesine with may wife, and we spent it watching a silly but entertaining hore with ny wil, and we ar ove alle Crazy Stupid, Love ae smofday began with my annual checkup at my doctor's ofce, tow {lnc wih Pc Norn, develope the Norton ati atwar by a iow and his wife, Gwen for lanch atthe Harvest, where wed tld. among other things, the use of computer ves ag ta « Tuclear threat, After lunch, I received an email from a lawy' ania TAKING THE STAND 449 ‘presenting Seif Qaddaf, who had just been apprehended by the Libyans He wanted me to represent Qaddafi in the Internatienal Criminal Court ‘and to negotiate for him to be tried in The Hague reher than in Tripoli {asked for more information before making a decison. | spent the rest ofthe afternoon working on writing projects and then went back to the Jaw school at 6:30 pa. fora Shabbos dinner sponsore¢ by Chabad and the Jewish Law Students Association. 1am faculty advisorto both of those or Sanizations, and I gave a rieftalk atthe beginning ofthe dinner. My wife andl then attended a concert at Sanders Theater. The next momning, flew to Washington, D.C. to bea keynote speaker at an event sponsored by Iranian dissidents. The other speakers inchuded former secretary of homeland security Tom Ridge, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee Howard Dean, former congressman Patrick Kennedy, and several other former and current government of: ficial. 1 then took the train back to New York, whe-e I was hoping to attend the Metropolitan Opera. But I was too tired, and I went back to iy apartment and ended the week by falling asleep st about 10 nat, My wife was proud of me for acknowledging my limitations, saying that five Years cavier, I never would ave been willing to mist anything because coftbeing tired. A friend, who is a psychoanalyst, has labeled my affliction “FOMS'—"feat of missing something” [plead guilty t that diagnosis, Nor was this event‘illed week unusual. Two weeks later, my wife and ‘Were off to Israel, where I received the Begin Prize formy “contributions to the Jewish people” and gave several lectures in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. During my visi to Israel, ew to Paris fora tall and to The Hague on 4 human rights matter. Then I went back to Israel for a conference and ‘meetings with the prime minister and other government official. Lpoke at an economic conference, and was followed by Netanyahu, who began his speech with the following words: “Fist off, I would like to congran Inte the Globes Conference for its foresight in inviting Alan Dershowitz, and I would like to say to Alan: Israel has no greater champion and the ‘ruth has no greater defender than Alan Dershowitz,” Shorly after those ‘words were broadcast on Israel television, President Obama called nie on ry cell phone, and we had a substantive discussion regarding ran’ efforts to develop nuclear weapons. He invited me to continue our discussion at ‘the White House, which I did several weeks later, Following my visit to Israel, my granddaughter joined usin Vienna for a few days of opera and strudel, followed by a visit to Prague as guests of the U.S. ambassador, a speech at a Czech university, a tearful visit to the 450 ALAN DERSHOWITZ ‘church in which the body of Viclav Havel, who had just died, was lying in state, and the lighting of Chanukah candles at the U.S. embassy. 1 don't know how long I will be able to keep up this pace, I am now caching only inh semester t Harvard Law School though gene ally squeeze four or five separate courses into that one semester. During the semester in which I am writing these words, | am teaching a large course, Professional Responsibility: Tacties and Ethics in Criminal Cases; seminar wth De Alan Stone on “Justice and Morality inthe Tragedies of ‘Shakespeare’; a seminar with Larry Lucchino on “The Law of Baseball”; 4 freshman seminar at Harvard College on “Where Does Your Morality ‘Come From?”; and a reading group on "Writing for the General Public ‘About Legal Issues” Ar the end of the fall semester in December, we move to South Beach, where write, lecture, and consult on cases fam tying to accept fewer commitments, but I find ithard to say nro ereing oe 3). Lalso cannot remain passive in the face of injustice and bigotry, Chhappenrs bone nerea alle son change a ‘come a good fight. Ihate to lose and I never give up. If ae prologue? my approach to life—living the passion of the times—wil ot change Bat are hs aap nea abates and requires choices and priorities. My priorities will con Sette decoy he sures ofthe ons ped oe challenged by rights. che tame of his books chnge—chane inthe edo of ‘expression, change in the way homicides and rapes are prosecuted and defended, change in the nature of media coverage of high-profile cases, change in atttudes toward race, change inthe relationship berween rl sion and government, change inte ts and onsses of human igh tnd change inthe way law ght ad learned apropie ten ‘with changes {have experienced in my own personal and professional life over the years and changes I expect to experience in the years to come. MY EVER-CHANGING LIFE 1¢ questions I am most often asked by others—and sometimes by ysl ees change ite sd ly hey ecu Going back to my teen years, why did 1 change, within a fe et ‘months, from a C and D student in high school ro an A+ seudent in cok lege anda school The change was eamatc and sadn erly ov the summer of 955, berween high school and college, between the ages TAKING THE STAND ast sixteen and a half and seventeen. What happened in those few months to change me from being lst, or close to las, in a class of, to being atthe top of a highly competitive college class of 2,000, andl then first in a clase (of 170 even more competitive students at Yale Law School? Wes it me who changed, or was ithe schools? Ie was both think I hal begun to change during my last year in high School, but my reputation among the faculty was

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