how does the government follow the bill of rigths while responding to lawlessness?

Question

Imagine that there in lawlessness in our society, how should the government respond while they attempt

to follow and honor our Bill of Rights and the concept of due process or the presumption of innocence?

Answer 1

Government, by definition, is not lawless. The purpose of government is to provide stability and to live under the rule of law. When attacked, even from inside, the government is the accountable party. Thus, government is created as an antidote to lawlessness. The enforcement of existing law and order is the requirement of government, and thus government is always responding to acts of lawlessness.

I believe it can be easy to see people flouting laws but not breaking them. When we see an individual act of lawlessness, we label the offender a criminal, or one who does not obey the law. On a mass scale, in the context of riots or even insurrections, the response of government is to confront that wide scale breaking of laws. A government is ultimately judged by its success in overcoming times of seeming lawlessness. This is only achieved if the government can return its society to a state of lawfulness. It can get there only by obeying the laws and rights by the peoples who give them their power. If the government in question is unable to enforce the law, and thus the foundation of society, then there is no government, there is only lawlessness. If the existing government has abdicated its responsibilities - then there is no protection under the law.

Hope that helps