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Syracuse University’s forum series on the War in Iraq focuses next on civil libertiesFebruary 19, 2003Kelly Homan Rodoskikahoman@syr.edu

In the Feb. 5 issue of The Washington Post, Ejaz Haider, a visiting scholar at the Brookings Institution and a native of Pakistan, spoke of his experience of being arrested and jailed for allegedly failing to register with the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) under special registration rules. What is needed, he said, is balance.

“The Justice Department’s job is not foreign policy, of course, and part of its duty is to prevent both American citizens and legitimate visitors from doing or suffering harm in this country. The INS should keep a watchful eye on potentially dangerous foreigners, but it must do a much better job of distinguishing them from the vast majority of foreign nationals in this country who seek only to work, study and obey the law. Moreover the law itself must be clear and fair for those to whom it applies,” Haider said.

Both sides of the civil liberties issue in relation to the potential war and homeland security will be addressed during the next installment of the “Syracuse University Forum: War in Iraq” on Thursday, Feb. 27, at 7 p.m. in Studio A of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. The forum is open to the University and greater Syracuse communities. Those attending should use the Waverly Avenue entrance to the building.

“War and the Many Faces of Civil Liberties” will feature William Banks, professor in the College of Law; Janis McDonald, associate professor in the College of Law; and student panelists Mohammed Gabr Bingabr of Yemen, a graduate student in computer science, and Saleh Nasri of Algeria, a graduate student in physics. The forum will be moderated by Sidney Greenblatt, assistant director for advising and counseling at the University’s Slutzker Center for International Services.

Banks will speak on investigatory powers stemming from the Patriot Act and other statutes and regulations. McDonald will focus on the law and the history of dissent. Bingabr and Nasri will address issues related to profiling

Banks has been a member of the College of Law since 1978. He served as associate dean for academic affairs from 1979-1981. Since 1998, he has been a professor of public administration in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. In 1998, he was named the Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor for Teaching Excellence. He teaches Constitutional law, advanced Constitutional law, national security law, U.S. counter-terrorism and the law, administrative law, legislation, regulatory law and policy, public administration and law, and public law processes. In addition to teaching public law subjects, Professor Banks lectures extensively on these and other national security and constitutional law-related topics and on comparative legal systems throughout the United States and Canada as well as in South and Central America, the Caribbean, Asia, Africa, and Europe.

McDonald has litigated cases in the federal and local courts in the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Virginia. She was a partner in a national law firm. Several of her cases established new sexual harassment and medical malpractice laws. She taught at Ohio Northern University College of Law and Yale Law School. She was a Ford Foundation Fellow in Public and International Law and wrote several articles on civil rights litigation and American legal history. Several federal courts have cited her civil rights article. McDonald served as president of the National Conference of Women’s Bar Associations, a national organization representing more than 80,000 women attorneys.

The forum series will continue on March 20, when a panel of students will share their views on the impending war. The topic of the April 3 forum will be determined as events dictate.