Controversies may sway courts (Phila. Inquirer: reg. req'd)

[meow2u3]

WASHINGTON - Controversies over the handling of prisoners in Iraq and at the Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba have severely damaged the Bush administration's argument that its detention system is beyond the reach of U.S. law and courts, several legal experts said this week.

From the Supreme Court to a Seattle courtroom, judges are weighing whether detainees at Guantanamo should have access to federal courts to challenge their confinement and whether two U.S. citizens held as enemy combatants have any legal rights.

The Justice Department has argued that the detainees have no such rights, that they do not deserve Geneva Convention protections, and that judges in wartime should have no say in how the executive branch and military handle captives.

But the images of abused detainees in Iraqi prisons and the Pentagon's confirmation this week that interrogators used special "stress and duress" techniques on some captives at Guantanamo have undermined that "trust us" argument used in court, several analysts said.


http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/8661895.htm?1c

[Spazito]

1. Kick!

I sure hope that it does affect the upcoming judgements, it sure should!

[David__77]

2. Kennedy and O'Conner would likely be affected.

I think they are the most malleable of the court. I think Bush will be reigned in.

[dbt]

4. Kennedy and O'Connor need to experience

THE FIRES OF HELL FOR A THOUSAND YEARS before their malleability is put to any further tests.

Of course, that's just me.

:evilgrin:
dbt

[sendero]

3. It's nice to know...

... that *something* good can come of this.

It doesn't make up for it but it is a start.