F*** the Constitution
November 11, 2005News & Politics
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South Carolina Republican Lindsay Graham is trying to attach a proposal to the upcoming defense bill that would prevent Gitmo prisoners from challenging their detention in court.
hilzoy writes:
"This is seriously bad news. As best I can tell, it strips the courts of all power to hear any habeas motion from a detainee, or any other challenge to a detainee's detention, and that this applies to any cases that have already been brought and are now pending."
...
"The right of habeas corpus -- the right to challenge the legality of your detention -- is one of the foundations of our legal system."What's particularly egregious about this move is that it attempts to make an end-run around the Supreme Court which already ruled that that was unconstitutional. hilzoy notes:
"In Rasul [Rasul v. Bush], the Supreme Court held that detainees do have the rights Senator Graham now wants to strip them of. And the Court was right: our system of justice does not and should not countenance the indefinite detention, without any right to appeal, of anyone at all."Go [HERE] for info on contacting senators. (Obsidian Wings; hat tip: Majikthise)
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