Judge Napolitano,

The notion that we have human rights is a myth. The concept emerged from “natural law” in the seventeenth century and became the imprimatur for the “social contract,” which, in turn, begat consideration of Natural Rights, and then Unalienable Rights, and then Human Rights, among other designations. This new worldview was the Zeitgeist of the Enlightenment philosophers – John Locke, Charles de Montesquieu, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Thomas Paine, and others – and led to the almost universal conclusion (the exception being Thomas Hobbes) that power should flow from the people, not from the governing authority. But, the intervening 200 years have shown that human rights cannot stand alone. Consider all the wars, the concentration camps, the gulags, slavery, torture, etc., etc.

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Although there is a whole lot more to be said on this subject, I would just close with and quote from Jeremy Benthem:

“In proportion to the want of happiness resulting from the want of rights, a reason exists for wishing that there were such things as rights. But reasons for wishing there were such things as rights, are not rights; -- a reason for wishing that a certain right were established, is not that right -- want is not supply -- hunger is not bread.”

Your honor, I rest my case.