Restoring Habeas
In 2006, the right to file the Great Writ was stripped for certain detainees. A week or so ago, Congress almost included a provision that would restore that right, but it was cut at the end. The ACLU has set up this amusing website: FindHabeas and even have an interactive timeline of Habeas Corpus. There is a petition to restore the right to seek redress via the Great Writ here. From that site:
In the fall of 2006, Congress passed a law governing military commissions, which included a provision that stripped certain detainees of their habeas corpus rights. Habeas corpus has been the bedrock of our justice system for centuries. The Supreme Court asserted that it “is the fundamental instrument for safeguarding individual freedom against arbitrary and lawless state action.” Without habeas corpus rights, detainees are denied a fair hearing in federal court to challenge the lawfulness of their detention. The government is left free to imprison people indefinitely without charge or trial or other fair hearing, no matter how inhumane the conditions of confinement or the treatment of the detainees. Such a policy is not only unconstitutional, it is also un-American and undermines our national character.
As lawyers, law students, law school deans, law school professors, retired judges, retired prosecutors and retired public defenders, we condemn the denial of habeas corpus rights to detainees and call for a restoration of our constitutional values. It is incumbent upon Congress to ensure that our laws reflect who we are as a society, that we are a people committed to accountability and basic fairness. In the face of adversity, adhering to our values does not make us less secure, but rather strengthens us as a nation.
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