“Democracies die behind closed doors.”
That’s from Judge Damon J. Keith for the unanimous three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, ruling against the Bush Administration request to keep certain deportation hearings secret (2002 FED App. 0291P (6th Cir.), Detroit Free Press v. Ashcroft).
The full text is here.
Or, to quote someone else who’s spoken eloquently on the subject in the past:
“Every thing secret degenerates, even the administration of justice; nothing is safe that does not show how it can bear discussion and publicity.”
— John Dalberg, Lord Acton (1834-1902), Letter (23 Jan. 1861)
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