The Supreme Court has ruled that people held prisoner by the US government have a Constitutional right to habeas corpus, regardless of who they are or where they are held.

A straightforward explanation of the high points from hilzoy at Obsidian Wings. To clarify: no one has actually been freed, but the Court has said that prisoners have the right ( Read more... )

The US Attorney General apparently does not believe US citizens have a right to habeas corpus. So I guess it doesn't matter if Bush repealed it, right? I think "chilling" is probably the right word for the head of the Justice Department saying that this fundamental right of the people to demand that their government prove it has a reason for ( Read more... )

The text of Senator Dodd's bill, which I mentioned last week. And if you haven't followed the changes the MCA made to the law, here's a discussion of how the MCA changed the law and the effect Dodd's bill would have on specific provisions of the MCA. As one of the comments points out, the only thing the bill doesn't address is the MCA provisions ( Read more... )

Senator Dodd proposes the Effective Terrorists Prosecution Act; this would restore our right to habeus corpus as well as undoing some of the worst excesses of the Military Commissions Act/Torture Bill. I don't know how successful this legislation is likely to be, but I applaud Senator Dodd for introducing it. Please write your Senators and tell ( Read more... )

Following are the names of the traitors to their country: 53 Republican bootlickers and 12 cowardly Democrats. If your Senators are on that list, I strongly suggest you reconsider who you were planning on voting for this November. I have no words to express the utter vileness of these individuals. They have sold out any moral values they may ( Read more... )

By rejecting an amendment which sought to add some semblence of legality to the pro-torture bill by removing the portion which barred habeas positions, the Senate has signaled that it is either one of the most idiotic governing bodies in the history of our country, or the most evil. They are also indicating that there is no way they will defeat ( Read more... )

The House today voted in favor of suspending the writ of habeas corpus at the president's wim, detaining non-combatants, authorizing torture, immunizing the US government for liability for war crimes, withdrawing from compliance with the Geneva Conventions, convicting prisoners on secret evidence and hearsay, and damning uncountable innocent people ( Read more... )