Religious, rights groups applaud Supreme Court in habeas corpus case
By Dennis Sadowski (Catholic News Service)
By Dennis Sadowski (Catholic News Service)
Peter Jan Honigsberg, professor of law at the Jesuit-run University of San Francisco's School of Law, said the first two decisions governed statutory provisions and that in both cases Congress passed White House-proposed bills that restricted habeas corpus rights. The most recent decision, however, addressed a basic constitutional issue and has far broader implications, he explained. For Honigsberg, who visited the Guantanamo Bay prison in May 2007 while conducting research for a book he is writing on the erosion of basic rights in law since the events of Sept. 11, 2001, the court's decision sets the stage for prisoners to present their cases in a U.S. court rather than waiting indefinitely for the federal government to bring individual cases to trial. "The real issue is about whether non-Americans, foreign nationals living outside the U.S. have a constitutional right to file habeas corpus petitions," Honigsberg told Catholic News Service. "That was an issue never really addressed in wartime. It's amazingly significant. To me it's astounding. This is the first time it's happened in wartime and for non-Americans. "So whether they're innocent or not is not what we're looking at. We're looking at the core of this nation: You have the right to appear before a neutral decision-maker," he said. "The Supreme Court is saying even in these times (of war) you have to give these people the chance to have a hearing to say whether they are wrongfully held or rightfully held," he added.Link (here)
More on the subject
McCain Slams The Supreme Court's Habeas Decision (here)
Wiki on Habeas Corpus (here)
President Lincoln and Habeas Corpus during the Civil War (here)
Who is in Guantanamo? (here)
5 comments:
I'm no supporter of the Democrat party, but don't you think the prisoners at G. Bay have a basic God-given right to speak up on their own behalf about their guilt or innocence? It seems like a basic right we should afford anyone we imprison.
Maybe you can point me to a longer article to read that makes the case for not affording the G. Bay prisoners a hearing.
It is important to note that habeas corpus is not even guaranteed to US citizens. I cite the US Constitution.
The United States Constitution specifically included the English common law procedure in the Suspension Clause, located in Article One, Section 9. It states:
“ The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it.
I am uneasy taking for granted that these men in G. Bay are all guilty of the sort of crime that means you get life in G. Bay. I think it's probably true that they are all guilty of something serious, but I can't see how never having them properly judged is going to help in the long run. We're not just trying to keep terrorists behind bars, we are trying to help a nation get on its feet there in the Middle East. I still side with the majority of the Supremes on this one in believing justice for all means our enemies as well - even if they'd just as soon cut our throats if the situation were reversed. If they are guilty (and I'd bet they are) then let them be judged in a proper court, found guilty and then sentenced.
What I do not understand is why the Supreme Court went through all the work with the President and the Congress constructing military courts to process these war criminals. Then having worked together for four years, at the last minute changed all the work that had gone on. The United States conducted war trials at Nurenberg in Germany, they were not brought to the US and tried in the US court system. G-Bay is not US soil, it is a military base.
"The United States conducted war trials at Nurenberg in Germany, they were not brought to the US and tried in the US court system. G-Bay is not US soil, it is a military base."
The trials at Nurenberg were public ( and recorded) and made according to the law, this isn't the case in G-Bay. A huge difference.
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