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Tolerance

Former Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey used to say you could judge a country by how it treats those at the beginning of life and those at the end of life. He was speaking, of course, about the values of compassion and generosity, particularly in those instances where the recipient is in no position to reward you with a vote, a contribution or even a thank you.

It seems to me you can also judge a country by how it treats those we hate, those who hate us, those we disagree with and even those we are afraid of, particularly in times when we have reason for fear. That is a measure of our tolerance, decency and confidence in our ideas and ourselves.

In recent days, there has been much criticism of Columbia University's decision to invite Iranian President and Holocaust-denier Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to deliver a lecture on campus. Why give an enemy a chance to speak? The short answer is because, unlike Iran, we are a free country and the risk posed in allowing such a speaker was not that he would convert anyone, but that he would be exposed — especially to his own people, who never get to see him face hard questions — as the ignorant, hateful despot he is. This, of course, is exactly what happened.

Columbia University President Lee Bollinger, refusing to shake Ahmadinejad's hand, introduced him as a "petty and cruel dictator," attacked him for his hatred of Israel and his doubts as to the Holocaust, and branded him as either "brazenly provocative or astonishingly uneducated." The audience, which had greeted him with polite applause, turned openly hostile when he said more research was needed to verify the existence of the Holocaust. He also denied, in answer to a challenge — the kind he would never get at home — about human rights abuses of homosexuals in Iran, that there were any gay people in his home country. What the speech proved is that while we may have much to fear from Ahmadinejad's leadership, we have nothing to fear from giving him a forum. In those circumstances, we win and he loses.

The same is true in courtrooms and in the criminal justice system when we treat fairly and respect the rights of those we fear as enemies. Judge Michael Mukasey, President Bush's choice for Attorney General, is by all reports a smart, tough, independent lawyer — a student of the law, not a political player — who is expected to win easy confirmation in the Senate.

But his handling of the case of Osama Awadallah, a college student swept up in one of the roundups of Muslim men that followed 9/11, raises serious questions about his judgment that deserve to be explored by the Senate.

Awadallah was one of a number of Muslims who then-Judge Mukasey ruled could be held by the government indefinitely, with no charges filed against them, as potential material witnesses in the 9/11 investigation. It was the broadest use — many would say abuse — of statutory authority that was never intended to substitute for the rule that government has no right to deprive you of your liberty if there is no cause to believe you have committed a crime. But that's just the beginning.

At the hearing to determine whether Mr. Awadallah could be held indefinitely, his lawyer's complaints that his client had been abused (a prison examination later found bruises, and a jury later acquitted him of the only charge brought against him — making a false statement — based on the defense that the abusive treatment he received in prison meant his statements could not be the basis for prosecution) were dismissed out of hand by the judge, who commented, "He looks fine to me."

So, too, were the lawyer's complaints that his client had been moved to New York without notice to his lawyer, the result being the lawyer had been forced to fly all night to attend the hearing. "You are now aware of it," the judge replied, refusing to even consider that the prosecution had denied the defendant the right to contact his lawyer until hours after he arrived in New York. "Oh, please," said the judge, from a transcript that drips with contempt.

When the San Diego attorney argued that he had no experience in criminal law, particularly in the "nuances" of New York law, and needed the assistance of a criminal defense lawyer in New York — Abdeen M. Jabara — the judge responded by ridiculing Jabara. "I got news for you. Mr. Jabara is not terribly familiar with the nuances either." He then ruled that the other lawyer could not join the defense team because he "was before me in a case that arguably has some relationship to this."

Mr. Awadallah was acquitted and ultimately graduated with honors from San Diego State University. Hopefully the judge — and perhaps future Attorney General — learned something in the process as well.

To find out more about Susan Estrich and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.