I can't wait to hear how Keith Olbermann comes out on this one.

[maradydd]

Dear Congress,

What part of the Sixth Amendment do you not fucking understand?

Also, CNN: that is not a bill for detainee trials, that is a bill against detainee trials, and seeing as how the last time habeas corpus was suspended on anything remotely resembling this scale it was the Civil War, the rejected Specter amendment merits a metric shit-ton more than just a "highlight of this article". The fact that the Specter amendment even had to be proposed in the first place -- that Congress would propose and approve a bill that flat-out removes the Sixth Amendment rights of anyone even suspected of a certain class of crime -- is the real news here. You fucking traitors.

Much hatred,
Meredith

(I mean, seriously. The thing that's really fucking terrifying about this little maneuver is, how do you appeal on Constitutional grounds a decision that's made in a secret court where you don't even get told the evidence against you? Appeals happen because of procedural errors in the lower courts or inconsistencies in the law, but when both the laws in question (see Gilmore v. Gonzalez) and the court's operation and decisions are sequestered away from the public, there is no way to challenge these decisions, full stop, because you are not given anything that you can challenge.)

Comments

[crabbyolbastard.livejournal.com]

Gee.. I sure hope those black hoods that they put over our heads are breatheable and don't chaffe...

Ehh I am sure we will find out soon enough.

[kythera.livejournal.com]

... So, what are the laws for seeking asylum in another country if your own government scares the bejeezus out of you?

[bigby.livejournal.com]

Tell me if you find them.

[ilcylic.livejournal.com]

You realize that the whole point is that the US claims universal jurisdiction, right?

Asylum only applies to countries that can defend the people seeking shelter.

[bigby.livejournal.com]

But they need the local intel to FIND your person. The game is in being more anoying to find than to let keep going.

[cipherpunk.livejournal.com]

Historical notes:

1. The Constitutional right of habeas corpus has never been construed as a universal right. It's always been a right held by American citizens and legal residents. It's true that all manner of illegal immigrants have appealed their detentions using habeas writs, but those writs have been statutory and not Constitutional.
   
   The Constitutional writ of habeas corpus isn't being touched here. Only the statutory writ. We can argue up and down over whether it's a good idea, but let's not pretend it's a Constitutional matter, because it's not.
2. The statement of the last time it was done on this scale was the Civil War is overblown, and you know it. During the Civil War, Lincoln suspended Constitutional habeas corpus, while knowing full well it was illegal for him to do so. Under the Constitution, Congress is the only authority that can suspend Constitutional habeas corpus, and Lincoln appropriated that power for himself.
   
   Compared to that historical precedent, Congress—not Bush—is suspending statutory habeas corpus for non-US citizens who are determined to be outside the scope of Geneva III, Article IV.
   
   I don't see how the two compare, I really don't.
3. Habeas corpus is not the absolute right people want to think it is, even for US citizens. It never has been. It used to be that federal prisoners would file a continuous stream of habeas petitions, mostly because they were bored and they wanted to punish the judicial system with a lot of make-work. Several years ago Congress passed a law to restrict the ability of prisoners to file for habeas relief. Nowadays, a prisoner has to convince a judge they have an actual issue before the prisoner is allowed to file a habeas petition.
   
   This law was found constitutional by SCOTUS.

... So yeah, I'm finding a lot of the hype surrounding MCA to be overblown. That's not to say I like the MCA, but I think the unhinged reaction it's getting from people is just as, if not more, unreasonable.