EFLtrainer
Joined: 04 May 2005
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 Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2007 7:39 pm Post subject: Habeus Corpus on Road to Resurrection |
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Ruling
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U.S. Appeals Court Rejects Administration's Claimed Ability to Declare Civilian an "Enemy Combatant" for Indefinite Military Detention
Human Rights First: Ruling a "Powerful Vindication" of Courts' Role
More About Law and Security
NEW YORK -- In a severe blow to the Bush administration�s claims of executive power, the federal Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit today said it would refuse to �alter the constitutional foundations� of the United States by upholding the government�s indefinite detention of a civilian in military custody in this country. Human Rights First, which submitted friend-of-the-court briefs in the case, called the ruling a �welcome and powerful vindication of the role of the courts in applying the rule of law in national security cases.�
Judge Diana Gribbon Motz, writing for a 2-to-1 majority, held that neither the Constitution nor any congressional statute allowed the president to designate U.S. legal resident Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, as an enemy combatant subject to military detention. The Court also ruled unanimously that the Military Commissions Act of 2006 did not deprive it of jurisdiction to hear Mr. al-Marri�s habeas corpus petition challenging his detention.
�In case after case, this nation�s judicial branch has told the administration that it may not trample on fundamental rights in the name of national security,� said Hina Shamsi, Deputy Director of the Law and Security Program at Human Rights First. �Here, the majority reaffirmed the administration�s obligation to obey the Constitution and the Geneva Conventions. This decision serves both the interests of justice and the interests of the United States.�
Mr. al-Marri, a Qatari student, was initially arrested in Illinois in December 2001 and detained in New York City as an alleged material witness in the 9/11 attacks. He pled not guilty to eventual charges of financial fraud and making false statements. In June 2003, President Bush declared him an �enemy combatant� in the �war on terror� and ordered him transferred to military custody. Mr. al-Marri was then held incommunicado for 16 months and was interrogated under allegedly coercive and abusive conditions. In July 2004, his counsel filed this habeas corpus petition, challenging Mr. al-Marri�s detention as an �enemy combatant.�
�Key to the Court�s decision that Mr. al-Marri should not be in military custody is the judges� thorough and well-reasoned application of the fundamental law-of-war distinction between civilians and combatants. Mr. al-Marri is not alleged to have fought against the United States, or to have been a part of armed forces against the United States, and he was picked up in Illinois, far from any battlefield,� added Shamsi. �In short, the administration over-reached, and the Court said no.�
Human Rights First submitted two friend-of-the-court briefs to the appeals court, arguing that Mr. al-Marri�s on-going military detention conflicted with the United States� international obligations, and compromised its international standing as a proponent of the rule of law. Additional details are available at: http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/us_law/inthecourts/
supreme_court_al_marri.htm. |
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