Harvard Law Professor Emeritus Alan Dershowitz said Monday on Newsmax that judges are overstepping their authority when they try to decide whether police officers should wear body cameras or regulate when cops may use defensive tools such as pepper spray.
“Obviously, it’s not the role of a judge to say whether or not agents have to have cameras on them or when they can use [pepper] spray,” Dershowitz said. “That’s a legislative determination; it’s an administrative determination.”
U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis on Thursday said federal immigration officers carrying out enforcement operations in the Chicago area must wear body cameras, citing her concerns about the use of aggressive crowd control measures.
Dershowitz emphasized that while he personally supports the use of body cameras by police, that decision must be made by policymakers, not members of the judiciary.
“It may be a good idea for police officers of all kinds to have cameras,” he said, describing the recording devices as “helpful” when it comes to policing.
He added that if he were in charge of a police department, he would likely endorse continuous camera use to enhance transparency and public trust.
“If I were the police commissioner, I think I would — after hearing all the arguments and all the sides — I would probably say keep your cameras on, and whenever you’re moving, the camera should automatically go on, so you don’t have to turn it on or turn it off,” Dershowitz said.
The longtime legal scholar warned that judicial overreach poses a risk to the separation of powers outlined in the Constitution.
“Even Justice [Ruth Bader] Ginsburg, who was very liberal, said many judges confuse their role with having a kind of roving mandate to do justice and do what they want to do,” Dershowitz noted.
“So I think I agree with you completely that this is judicial overreaching, and it has to be stopped,” he said. “I think it will be stopped when the case gets to the Supreme Court.”
Pivoting to foreign affairs, Dershowitz said sustaining the ceasefire and peace in Gaza will be an uphill battle.
“Now the question is how to keep the peace,” he said. “Hamas obviously has no interest in keeping it.
“They are murderers and rapists and cheaters, and Israel is a legitimate democratic army.”
Dershowitz credited “[President] Donald Trump’s brilliant diplomacy and Israel’s brilliant military tactics” for helping reach the current peace deal, but warned “it’s going to be difficult” to maintain.
“When the United States and Israel work together, they are invincible,” he said. “And when they’re apart, like they were under the Obama administration, both sides are weaker.”
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