RELEASED: Oct. 23, 2003

DANVILLE, KY—The Centre College Law Society will sponsor a free, public forum on the controversial U.S.A. Patriot Act on Oct. 27 at 6:30 p.m. in Young Hall (room 101) on campus. Timothy Edgar from the American Civil Liberties Union and Erwin Roberts from the U.S. Department of Justice will be the featured speakers.

In the wake of the September 11 attacks, Congress passed the U.S.A. Patriot Act as a means to fight terrorism. Touted by many as an effective weapon in the war on terrorism, the U.S.A. Patriot Act has been criticized by groups such as the ACLU for its curtailing of civil liberties.

Daniel Stroup, professor of government at Centre, comments, "The events of September 11 have forced upon us the agonizing choice between liberty and security. How much liberty must we sacrifice in order to preserve liberty? This is one of the most serious and important questions any free people can ever face, and the decisions we make today will provide precedents for generations to come. This event provides an opportunity for the community to hear the two sides of this dilemma presented by expert advocates and to engage them in a serious discussion of this question."

Timothy H. Edgar is a legislative counsel in the Washington Nation Office of the American Civil Liberties Union, responsible for national security, terrorism and immigration. A graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School, Edgar joined the ACLU four months before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. He has testified before Congress and the United States Commission on Civil Rights. He appears on national and international television and radio to address civil liberties issues, and is often quoted in major newspapers.

Erwin Roberts is an assistant United States attorney for the Western District of Kentucky. He has been with the U.S. Attorney's Office since 1999 and has worked on federal drug prosecutions and forfeitures. After Sept. 11, 2001, he began working on anti-terrorism matters. He is the coordinator for the Anti-Terrorism Advisory Council (ATAC) for the Western District of Kentucky, and he also serves as a member of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Joint Terrorism Task Force.

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