MCC Hosts Four Lectures for Annual Constitution Day
Manchester, Conn. (September 23, 2015) – In celebration of the anniversary of the U.S. Constitution, MCC hosted its annual series of lectures for Constitution Day last week. Guest lecturers visited the college’s main campus September 16 and 17.
The Constitution of the United States, which is the governing law of the land, was drafted on September 17, 1787 and ratified on June 21, 1788.
Major Alaric Fox of the Connecticut State Police was invited to speak to MCC students, faculty, staff and the community September 16 on how the U.S. Constitution plays out today in the process of criminal procedures. He discussed how the Fourth Amendment protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures, and how members of law enforcement apply the amendment in their interactions with the public.
Speaking to some 80 attendees assembled in the Great Path Academy Community Commons room, Major Fox acknowledged the controversy surrounding recent clashes between police and citizens in which racial profiling has allegedly been an issue.
“If a police officer has ‘reasonable suspicion,’ he or she is within their rights to search without a formal search warrant,” Major Fox explained in his lecture. However, he emphasized, “Throughout my career as a police officer, I have treated all persons fairly with no bias based on race.” The majority of law enforcement does the same, he said.
Major Fox has served as a special agent of the FBI and has practiced law with a Hartford-based law firm. In 1994 he returned to police work when he joined the Connecticut State Police. In 2011 he was promoted to the rank of major.
Three other lectures were also held to celebrate Constitution Day. Also on Wednesday, Attorney Daniel Silver of the New Britain, Conn.-based law firm Silver & Silver, LLP, delivered a lecture entitled, “When Does a Police Officer’s Rights to Privacy End — at the Station House Door?”
On Thursday September 17, Stephen Glassman, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut, was invited to present, “The Constitution and Bill of Rights: What Would the Founding Fathers Say Today?” The second lecture of the day featured Attorney Richard Voigt, partner in the law firm of Hartford-based McCarter and English, LLP, speaking on “The Big Gamble: Article VI and the First Amendment of the Constitution.”
MCC Professor of Economics and Political Science Angelo Messore called the lecture series, “…very valuable to anyone as an opportunity to learn about their rights as a U.S. citizen and how our laws protect them.” The MCC lecture series is in its 20th year.
