This other constitution of ours requires constant belief in certain precepts if the formal Constitution and its rule of law are to be secure. The bar has a special obligation to uphold these principles, and I wish to mention three of them. First, we must insist on the responsibility of the individual. A person must be held accountable for his or her actions. This principle is one of enforceable obligation in the criminal and the civil law, but it extends as well to all community endeavors and social relations.
Personal responsibility is essential to define individuality.
All persons within our society, including the very young, must comprehend and respect this idea. Individual freedom presupposes individual responsibility. The issue arises in many contexts, but I will take as one example the defense of diminished capacity in criminal law. If it is to be acknowledged in the criminal law at all, the defense ought to be confined to the rarest of cases. James Q. Wilson recounts a criminal case in which a man was prosecuted for a crime alleged to have been committed while he was participating in a riot.