Published by Humanities Press, 1997 (Distributed by Prometheus Books, Amherst, N.Y.)
DEFENDING RIGHTS describes the contemporary struggle for political and civil rights in the United States from the perspective of Frank Askin, General Counsel of the American Civil Liberties Union. It is a book that goes to the core of every American's basic concern - what is big government doing and are they doing it for us? It is a book about law and lawyers, and what one has to do with the other. It is also about politics and how individuals influence the establishment of public policy.
Frank Askin has been in the forefront of legal struggles to expand individual rights for thirty years and has been General Counsel of the ACLU for over twenty. A Distinguished Professor at Rutgers Law School, in 1970 he founded Rutgers' pioneering Constitutional Litigation Clinic, where he has trained a new generation of public interest lawyers. He has interspersed his activities in the courtroom and classroom with several stints on Capitol Hill as special counsel to congressional committees and has run for Congress twice.
Congressman John Conyers, Jr., Former Chairman of the House Government Operation Committee states, "DEFENDING RIGHTS tells a compelling story of day-to-day work by dedicated lawyers to protect and defend constitutional rights, both in the courtroom and in the legislative arena. This book belies the adage that people who love law and sausages should never watch either of them being made. Frank Askin provides an inside view of the law-making process that is fascinating and eminently readable."
Fred Feinstein, General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board states, "Askin has written a lively and illuminating account of his hands-on participation in some of the more intriguing legal battles of our time. In particular, his behind-the-scenes recollection of perhaps the most important recent effort to reform labor law, sheds new light on an event that nearly twenty years later continues to shape labor policy."
Professor Askin provides a panoramic view of the struggles between Left and Right over public law and policy in the post-war era. Written in a personal style which will captivate students from high school through graduate school, the book provides lively and often humorous perspectivn the McCarthy era, the civil rights movement, the anti-war and anti-nuke campaigns, the clash between police and counterculture, the war between labor and management, the fight for free speech and many other struggles of the Cold War era. And it takes the student right into the middle of the courtrooms and legislative arenas where many of these public controversies wound up.
Reflections on Life as a Constitutional Lawyer
Monument to Participants in 1948 Baltimore Tennis Court Sit-In led by Stanley Askin
"Speech is free only to those who can afford it";(The Star Ledger 7/1/11)
"Advance Voter Registration: Is It Obsolete?.pdf";(Jointly authored by Yael Bromberg in the New Jersey Law Journal 5/6/11)"What if Christie defied court on school funding?.pdf";(The Asbury Park Press 5/6/11)
"Working to stack the deck for 2012 presidential election.pdf";(The Star-Ledger 3/23/11)"It's Deja Vu All Over Again for Rutgers' Legal Clinics.pdf";(The New Jersey Law Journal 11/17/10)
"Attack on organized labor is nothing new";(The Star-Ledger 3/11/11)"The Illogic of the Top Court's Chicago Gun-Rights Decision";(The New Jersey Law Journal 7/14/10)
"Stop trying to roll back the Mount Laurel affordable housing doctrine";(The Star-Ledger 5/28/10)"Supreme Court justice choice";(The Star-Ledger 4/15/10)
"Health care reform should survive legal challenges";(The Star-Ledger 3/26/10)"Filibuster: It's time for majority rule in the Senate";(NJ.Com 2/11/10)
"Askin: Changing the rules of campaign finance";(North Jersey.Com 1/31/10)"N.J.Supreme COurt Protects SLAPPers";(196.N.J.L.J.827 6/22/09)
"Askin: The high court and the costs of free speech";(NorthJersey.com 5/11/09)
"Free choice or no choice for U.S. workers";(The Star-Ledger 3/20/09)
"An Electoral Reform Worth Considering";(195 N.J.L.J. 811 3/16/09)
"Who's 'playing politics' with the census?"; (The Star-Ledger 3/3/09)
"Frivolous lawsuits: SLAPPing the lawyer right back?";(The NJ ESQ 3/2/09)
"For oil gaint, a $500 million recusal?" (The Record (Hackensack), July 28, 2008)
"Disfranchising Felons." (Printed at 59 Rutgers Law Review 875, Spring 2008)
"A Government Divided." (Printed in The Record, 8/6/07)
"Congress's Power to Compel." (Printed in The Washington Post, Page A13, 7/21/07)
"Key Free Speech Case: Twin Rivers" (Printed in The Record, Opinion Page, 1/3/07)
"Secret Justice" (Reprinted from the American Prospect)
"Zazzali Watchdog for the Little Guys" (Printed in The Record, Opinion Page, 9/26/06 )
"An affirmative legacy at Rutgers Law"
"No 'Inherent Authority' Justifies Warrantless Wiretaps of Citizens"
"Let 'em in and get 'em in: How to give more people the right- and the reason- to vote"
"Confessions of a Turf Lawyer (protecting grass-roots organizing)"
"Everything You Need to Know About Political Campaign Finance and Why the System Cannot Be Fixed"
"New Jersey's Latest Crime Wave (Family autonomy and the Right to a public education"
"Two Visions of Justice: Federal Courts at a Crossroads"
"What This Court Needs Is a Justice with Vision"
"Reno's Dilemma: Campaign Finance Law, According to Hoyle" (Christian Science Monitor, 12/31/97)
"Brother, Can You Spare IOLTA?" (Legal Times, Washington, D.C., Jan. 5, 1998)
"Free Speech, Private Space, and the Constitution," (29 Rutgers Law Journal 947, Summer 1998)
"Can Congress Gag Legal Services Lawyers," New Jersey Law Journal, Oct. 9, 2000
"Electoral College Daze," Perspective, (Newark) Star-Ledger, Nov. 12, 2000
"The Supreme Court Changes the Rules," New Jersey Law Journal, Jan. 8, 2001
"A Lawless Decision," Rutgers Focus, Feb. 22, 2001
"Why Sampling Should Be Used in Census Count," The (Bergen) Record, Feb. 22, 2001
"Hard Facts About Soft Money: The Debate Over Campaign-Finance Reform", May 20, 2002
"Rehnquist's Story: Chief Justice Has History of Siding with 'Big Brother'", July 12, 2002
"A Great Victory for America," Star-Ledger, June 24, 2003
"Back to (J. Edgar) Hooverism," New Jersey Law Journal, April 28, 2003
"Ban Disfranchises Those Who Need Most Help," Philadelphia Inquirer, February 4, 2004
"Voting Rights for Parolees and probationers" New Jersey Lawyer, May 3, 2004
"Rescuing the Constituion (Advice to the Obama Administration)," Bergen Record, January 18, 2009
Last updated: January 27, 2008
