Geoffrey R. Stone: Restoring Habeas Corpus Rights Eliminated By the Military Commissions Act

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from HuffPost;


Geoffrey R. Stone


03.05.2007

Restoring Habeas Corpus Rights Eliminated By the Military Commissions Act (1 comments )


The following statement was released today by the Constitution Project's Liberty and Security Committee and its Coalition to Defend Checks and Balances:

We, the undersigned members of the Constitution Project's Liberty and Security Committee and the Project's Coalition to Defend Checks and Balances, are deeply troubled by the recent legislation eliminating habeas corpus for certain non-citizens detained by the United States.

We recommend that Congress vote to restore federal court jurisdiction to hear these habeas corpus petitions.

Habeas corpus has for centuries served as the preeminent safeguard of individual liberty and the separation of powers by providing meaningful judicial review of executive action. In 2004, the United States Supreme Court upheld the right of Guantanamo detainees to file habeas corpus petitions to challenge the lawfulness of their indefinite detentions.

Nevertheless, in October 2006, Congress enacted the Military Commissions Act ("MCA") eliminating habeas corpus for certain aliens held by the United States as "enemy combatants." While we recognize the need to detain foreign terrorists to protect national security, we do not believe repealing federal court jurisdiction over habeas corpus serves that goal. On the contrary, habeas corpus is crucial to ensure that the government's detention power is exercised wisely, lawfully, and consistently with American values.

The protections of habeas corpus have always been most critical in cases of executive detention without charge. In these circumstances, habeas corpus proceedings afford prisoners a meaningful opportunity to be heard before a neutral decisionmaker. .....(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/geoffrey-r-stone/restoring-habeas-corpus-r_b_42674.html

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1. K&R n/t