Justice Rehnquist's Ominous History of Wartime Freedom
…according to Chief Justice William Rehnquist, people have to get used to having less freedom. There is a limit to what courts will do to help those deprived of rights, he says, because judges have a natural "reluctance" to rule "against the government on an issue of national security during wartime." In fact, there is "some truth," he concludes, to the Latin maxim "inter arma silent leges" — in time of war, the law is silent.

With all of the war talk today — the so-called war on terror and the prospect of a real one in Iraq — it may sound as if the chief justice is laying the groundwork for a drastic rollback in civil liberties. But these reflections come from a history book, "All the Laws but One: Civil Liberties in Wartime," that he wrote four years ago. When it came out, "All the Laws but One" seemed like an academic exercise. But with several major terrorism cases headed to the Supreme Court, court watchers are starting to pick it up as a possible guidebook.

If Mr. Rehnquist the jurist sees the world as Mr. Rehnquist the historian does, there is cause for concern.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/22/opinion/22SUN3.htmla>