Posner and Stone Say U.S. Should Declassify Much of Its Information
U.S. needs to declassify much of its information, critics say
Judge Richard A. Posner of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and Professor Geoffrey R. Stone of the University of Chicago Law School don't agree on much.
But the two are of the same mind when it comes to the federal government's system of deciding which information should be kept secret.
During at a Thursday program during the Federal Bar Association annual convention titled "The U.S. Reaction Since 9/11," both Posner and Stone accused the government of engaging in "overclassification" by trying to conceal too much material.
Posner did concede that certain information — for example, the identities of spies and the details of secret weapons systems — should be classified.
But Posner contended that most of the information the government declares classified "is totally inconsequential."
Stone said overclassification can make things difficult for the government as well as individuals seeking information.
Read more at Chicago Daily Law Bulletin