The court has ruled that the evidence they have against a victim of

[alfredo]

bush's legal system should not be shared with the defendant's lawyer. Let me get this straight. If I got arrested I would have no right to see the evidence against me. I could be thrown in prison for the rest of my life, or be executed without ever knowing what they think I did.

http://jonathanturley.org/2008/06/02/latest-court-order-in-the-case-of-dr-ali-al-timimi/#comment-14146


I wonder if they will allow the defendant to state their defense.

[Ichingcarpenter]

1. This is not good to say the least

Turley is a constitutional lawyer and this is big news.

I really don't have a comment except I kick and nominate it with sadness.

[nomorenomore08]

3. Reminiscent of Kafka's 'The Trial,' isn't it?

Some claim we're living in an Orwellian reality these days, but I tend to see it as more akin to Kafka (hence my avatar :))

[alfredo]

4. That's what I was thinking.

[tom_paine]

5. If Orwell and Kafka got together and dropped acid, they might be able to hallucinate

the coming of Inverted Totalitarianism, since it did not exist...it did not need to exist for tyrants were getting their way just fine using the old Classic Totalitarianism during the time in which they lived.

But yes, Orwell and Kafka's Worst Nightmares MIGHT have been able to discern this new form before it came into being in Bushie Think Tanks in the late 70s and early 80s.

[PDJane]

2. This is another step

on the short road to fascism. There is only a short time before the window closes, and I hope you manage to shove it open again.

The fact that this isn't in the MSM is depressing.......

[tom_paine]

6. It is not permissible for the Toady Media to discuss such things.

And they are as cowardly and censored as the Chinese Communist Media.

But does the Chinese Toady Media have hot blonde anchorbabes? Hell no! When it comes to Toady Media, we're #1!

We're #1! We're #1! We're #1!

:puke:

[tblue37]

7. It is like Kafka's _The Trial_. n/t

[UpInArms]

8. the unPATRIOT Act did this

here is what I wrote when this happened:

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. - Ben Franklin

Midnight Express Revisited

By: Bridget Gibson - 11/17/01

In a foreign country, a young man breaks a minor law. The rules of this country are harsh and inscrutable. At a trial in which he is allowed no representation, he is sentenced to a three year prison term. Under difficult prison conditions, he later learns that his sentence has been changed to one of thirty years. There have been no communications with others regarding his guilt or innocence. Secrecy reigns and terror is the by-product.

You may say that this scenario is not the United States and you would be correct. This happened in Turkey in 1970. We have laws that prevent that type of thing, you say. You are partially correct. We DID have laws that prevented that type of thing. No longer. Our president has issued an Executive Order regarding the rights of non-citizens in this country. He has stated that there will be military trials, guilt being assessed by a two-thirds majority, without any evidence being offered (due to national security), and that, if found guilty, this foreign person may be executed.

At this time, our justice department has detained, without releasing their names, without disclosing where they are being held, over 1100 persons. We do not know if they are allowed to have an attorney. We do not know in what conditions they are being held. They have not been charged with any crime. At this time, it is believed that they are of Middle Eastern descent. Their "crimes" may be only that of minor visa infractions.

If these are to become the laws of this country, I wonder how many of America's friends to the south will be rounded up and incarcerated? I wonder how many people have entered this land of the free and home of the brave without going through "all of the proper authorities"? I recall that the Statue of Liberty says "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door". Are we not a nation of immigrants? Did not most of us descend from those who were seeking a better life in a country that was ruled democratically?

What is happening in our nation's Capitol? Our country is now being ruled by fiat, or decree. Laws are being made without discussion or debate. With the stroke of a pen, George W. Bush signed an Executive Order nullifying the judicial branch and an independent jury, which have long been our protections. Under this order, this is no longer true. There are no more checks and balances. All non-citizens face an executive that is now investigator, prosecutor, judge, jury and jailer or executioner.

There have been times that Congress has passed legislation to negate or modify a specific executive order. However, when it has, the President has often vetoed the new law and Congress has not always had the votes to override this veto. All citizens of this country must demand that their representatives speak and vote against this tyranny. The nullification of this Order is imperative to retain our system of checks and balances.

[alfredo]

9. excellent letter. Now we find the bush is using prison ships

to prevent international scrutiny. I can imagine the brutality they are handing out on these poor souls.

[Hydra]

10. I told people this would happen when the Military Commissions Act of 2006

was being "considered"...and when Jose Padilla was show-trialed after being tortured.

Score another one for the Doomsayer, unfortunately.