WINNEMUCCA —  The schools do this terrible disservice in that they attempt to teach really important stuff at a time when we simply don’t care (ages 12-16) because by that time most of us have discovered the opposite sex (or the same sex – we don’t judge).

Due to this error in judgment by the education establishment, many have little or no knowledge of the John Adams legacy.

You may be thinking,  “John Adams. Wasn’t he the boring Founding Father?”  (Correct answer:  yes).

Most of us, though, do recall a little scuffle between the colonists and the British soldiers that would later be known as the Boston Massacre (it wasn’t, but that’s what they call it).

In case some of the details have faded in the years since you’ve been in 5^th grade, allow me to refresh your memory.

In the two years leading up to the Boston Massacre (1770), the colonists and British troops quartered in major cities were not playing nicely together on the monkey bars.

The troops were sent to ensure the peaceful collection of taxes from colonists who objected to paying them.

Events leading up to the deaths of five colonists began with a verbal dispute between one of the colonists and one of the British troops.  The British soldier allegedly struck the young man with the butt of a rifle, so the young man went for reinforcements and came back with an angry mob of about 300-400 colonists.

The British troop was soon reinforced with six others.

The colonists surrounded the British soldiers, hurled insults, snowballs, and balls of ice; the British troops opened fire; five young men died.

That’s the short version.  The long version may be read here:  Boston Massacre

The British soldiers were arrested, charged with murder, and held in prison until trial.

Keep in mind there was no Sixth Amendment at this time and no public defenders. For more on the right to legal counsel and public defenders visit:  History of Right to Counsel

The accused faced rather an ugly hurdle in that no one would defend them. That might seem odd, since even in those days the average attorney wasn’t opposed to making a buck, but the issue came down to politics.

First and foremost, attorneys were pretty ticked off about the Stamp Act and duties on paper, which hurt their bottom line, so they had no lost love for the British.  Also, the movement for Independence was just chock full of attorneys.  (Perhaps those two things were related, no?)

Lastly, it was just seen as a bad career move.

So, the accused languished in jail until someone approached John Adams and asked him to take the case.  Adams knew this was a bad political move at a time he was allegedly considering a run for office.  Worse, the retainer was reportedly a single guinea (a gentleman’s retainer), so he wasn’t going to get rich off the case.

Last but not least, Adams was a supporter of the move for Independence.  He hardly seemed like the ideal candidate for the defense of British soldiers accused of murdering colonists.

Why would he take the case?  Because he believed in the law.  Not just the philosophy of it, but the harsh reality of it.

At trial John Adams famously said, “The law, in all vicissitudes of government, fluctuations of the passions, or flights of enthusiasm, will preserve a steady undeviating course; it will not bend to the uncertain wishes, imaginations, and wanton tempers of men.”

The full speech may be read here:  Speech for the Defense

Following trial, everyone was acquitted but two of the soldiers who were convicted of manslaughter (not murder).  They had their thumbs branded and were sent back to England.

What followed was a Revolution, a Constitution, and eventually a Bill of Rights – the document in which the new Americans collected the philosophies they believed in:  free speech, free association, right to bear arms, the rights of the accused, etc.

However, circumstances have conspired to test that which we believe.

John Adams, the defender of the participants of the Boston Massacre, as the second president would sign legislation known as the Alien and Sedition Acts.  One aspect of the ASA was to make it a criminal offense to publish false or malicious information against the government or its officials, which was hardly in keeping with the principles of the First Amendment.

My personal feelings on the topic have always been: if government officials don’t want to see malicious stuff about themselves in print they should act better.

I digress.

The government and its officials haven’t been the only ones to have their beliefs tested.

In the beginning Americans championed the Rights of Man and basic human freedoms at a time when many of them owned slaves. Oh the irony.

Over the years Americans have  stood by while Native Americans were massacred in the march west, Japanese Americans were detained in camps during WWII, and black Americans were lynched.

Of course, that stuff’s just ancient history, right? Not quite.  We have learned nothing from the history we don’t pay attention to.

In recent years instead of living up to our ideals, many have turned a blind eye to the conditions of those detained at the Guantanamo Bay military facility in Cuba.  The US government transported those detained from war zones in Afghanistan and Iraq, declared they did not have to observe the Geneva Convention at Guantanamo, and turned to torture as a means of obtaining information.

It’s easy for a lot of Americans to support what’s been going on at Guantanamo Bay.  What do we care?  Those detained were not Americans. Well, one of them was, but the rest were definitely not God-fearing, apply-pie eating, baseball watching Americans.  They were terrorists.

But is that what they were really?  Can we know that without an examination of the evidence and public trials?  Without an adherence to the rule of law John Adams spoke so eloquently about.  Supposedly these were things we believe in, but instead our beliefs were tested. 

Guantanamo and the War on Terrorism gives us an opportunity to examine what it is we really believe.

These issues will be up for discussion during the Nevada Bar Association’s Law Day celebrated this Thursday (May 5).  The theme for this year’s event:  The John Adams Legacy - from Boston to Guantanamo

Courtrooms in Las Vegas, Carson City, and Winnemucca will be linked through video conferencing technology so that discussions can take place statewide. The video will be broadcast on the Supreme Court website prior to the panel discussions and available to everyone in Nevada with Internet access, and even worldwide.

Students or the public will be able to comment on issues or ask questions through Twitter or Facebook links.

Additionally, the Nevada Supreme Court will hold oral arguments in two cases at Lowry High School on Friday (May 6).  To read about those cases visit:  NSC to hold oral arguments in Winnemucca.