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About this quote

What does it mean?
Unlawful methods used to convict suspects can endanger liberty as much as crime itself.
In plain terms
Illegal methods used to convict people endanger liberty too.
What can you take from it?
Justice requires legal methods not just convictions.

Where it applies

  • trials
  • law enforcement
  • justice system

Putting it to work

  • defend due process
  • oppose illegal searches

Questions to consider

  • Can we have safety without sacrificing liberty?

Another view

Public safety concerns sometimes pressure due process.

More from Earl Warren

  1. Liberty, not communism, is the most contagious force in the world.

    Permalink to quote #17
  2. Many people consider the things which government does for them to be social progress, but they consider the things government does for others as socialism.

    Permalink to quote #19
  3. It is the spirit and not the form of law that keeps justice alive.

    Permalink to quote #16

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