rationality

[Robin Charlow]

ChambersH at MISSOURI.EDU 09/28/01 10:04AM wrote:
. . . if we believe that internment stops an individual's
ability to commit terrorist acts, it would be rational to intern any
individual, whether suspicious or not, because such internment would
eliminate any possibility that that individual could commit a terrorist act.
That line of reasoning cannot be correct or it suggests that the rationality
question is almost irrelevant.

        If we're talking about Equal Protection rationality, then isn't it necessary to establish comparative rather than absolute rationality?  The relevant question would be whether it is rational to treat one person differently from other similarly situated people, or, in your hypothetical terms:  Is it rational to single out for internment some particular nonsuspicious individual from the universe of nonsuspicious individuals?

Robin Charlow
Hofstra Law School