Chaos Magnet

Senate blocks courts from ruling on Guantanamo Bay

The Senate has passed an amendment to a defense appropriations bill that removes the ability of the courts to rule on whether or not an individual is being held illegally at Guantánamo Bay.

The relevant text:

(d) Judicial review of detention of enemy combatants --

(1) in general -- section 2241 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
" (e) No court, Justice, or judge shall have jurisdiction to hear or consider an application for writ of habeas corpus call by or on behalf of an alien outside of the United States (as that term is defined in section 101(a)(38) of The Immigration and Naturalization Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(38)) who was detained by the Department of Defense at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba."

I can't even begin to tell you how bad I think this is. And before you think "I don't have to worry about that, I'm an American citizen," I direct you to the fact that the administration tried to pass legislation allowing the Justice Department to strip citizenship from ANYONE thought to be a member of a group the Attorney General deemed as a terrorist organization. Let me further remind you that that could apply to groups as diverse as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and the National Rifle Association (NRA).

Technorati tags: freedom | habeas corpus | justice | politics | Senate | Guantánamo | Guantanamo | Guantánamo Bay | Guantánamo Bay

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