WOMEN VOTERS RECOGNIZE BICENTENNIAL FOR BILL OF RIGHTS

This month marks the 200th anniversary of the Bill of Rights, and the Cape Girardeau County League of Women Voters hopes that it can inspire interest in the document among local high school students.

The league Sunday presented copies of the book, "In Our Defense The Bill of Rights in Action" to the libraries of Central and Notre Dame High Schools.

The book, written by attorneys Ellen Alderman and Caroline Kennedy, uses recent law cases to illustrate the 10 Constitutional amendments contained in the Bill of Rights.

Kay Braasch of the local League of Women Voters said the Bill of Rights depicts the highest goals of the league.

She said it's important for all citizens particularly youngsters to realize the document's importance in protecting individual rights.

"The Constitution itself sets up the structure of government, but the Bill of Rights protects the individual citizen from his own government," Braasch said.

"I think kids need to be aware of our government and how it works," she added. "This book, hopefully, will help that."

Braasch said "In Our Defense" is an excellent book for anyone interested in the Bill of Rights as it applies today.

"It's written very simply for a layman to understand, and of course it's written by two women," she said. "They take each one of the issues of the Bill of Rights and go through various case histories to illustrate the Bill of Rights and how it applies.

"They're all fairly recent cases, so that it's something younger readers should be interested in."

Ann Bartlett, the librarian at Central High School, said she was certain the book would be well liked.

"I'm certainly pleased to have the book and I'm sure the kids will benefit from it," she said. "I'm sure the name Caroline Kennedy will give them an added interest."

The book was presented at the league's annual holiday open house honoring local government officials. The event was held at the home of George and Yvonne Ketcham at 1416 Themis.

Braasch said that although the Bill of Rights has remained unchanged for the past 200 years, recent societal pressures could undermine some of the document's tenets.

She said she thinks the fourth amendment, which protects citizens from illegal searches and seizures, could be affected by more stringent drug enforcement policies.

"Drugs and crime are such a major problem today, and I can see the rights of the individual being eroded because of the great concern for these problems," she said.

Braasch said the changing makeup of the Supreme Court also could affect how the Bill of Rights is interpreted in terms of protection of individuals' rights.

"With all the rights, it's ultimately up to the interpretation of the Supreme Court," she said.

"But you just have to wait until the decisions start coming down. It's very difficult to tell what a Supreme Court will do."

Braasch said that when President Dwight Eisenhower nominated Warren Burger to the court, most people assumed Burger was a conservative. As it turned out, the justice presided over some of the court's most liberal landmark decisions, Braasch said.