Justice Delayed
Back in June, the US Supreme Court ruled that Guantanamo Bay detainees were entitled to habeas corpus hearings and ordered those hearings to come quickly. Here we are in October, and no such hearings have been held, although the first one is supposed to happen some time this week, according to this article in today's NY Times.
Since the Supreme Court issued its ruling, lawyers for most of the 255 detainees in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, have pressed ahead with habeas corpus lawsuits, yet most of those cases have been delayed by battles over issues like whether some court sessions will be held in secret, whether detainees can attend and what level of proof will justify detention.
Some of the arguments made by the Justice Department appear to challenge the Supreme Court’s conclusion that the federal courts have a role in deciding the fate of the detainees. One Bush administration argument asserts that only military officials — not federal judges — have the power to decide how to conclude wartime detentions.
Officials and lawyers inside and outside of the government say the new legal confrontation suggests that the Bush administration will most likely continue its defense of the detention camp until the end of President Bush’s term and is not likely to close the camp, as administration officials have said they would like to do. [Emphasis added]
I find it astounding that in the face of the Supreme Court's decision the administration is now proposing that the federal judiciary has no power over the issue. I would think that kind of twisted logic wouldn't fly even in Lewis Carroll's Alice In Wonderland, yet there it is.
I suppose the real reason for the delays is that President Bush doesn't want yet another war time loss. It would only blemish his legacy. Let the next guy sort this out, along with all of the other messes being left behind. Yet the lengths to which the government is going is, well, criminal:
...In some cases, government lawyers are adding new grounds for holding the men, supplementing or replacing the accusations made during Guantánamo hearings four years ago.
What, the original charges won't fly? Well, then, let's invent some new ones so that we can keep the defense lawyers so off guard they can't possibly do their jobs. Who knows? Some of them might even sound believable, especially if we don't tell the defendants until they walk through the hearing doors.
I am even more ashamed than I ever thought possible.
Since the Supreme Court issued its ruling, lawyers for most of the 255 detainees in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, have pressed ahead with habeas corpus lawsuits, yet most of those cases have been delayed by battles over issues like whether some court sessions will be held in secret, whether detainees can attend and what level of proof will justify detention.
Some of the arguments made by the Justice Department appear to challenge the Supreme Court’s conclusion that the federal courts have a role in deciding the fate of the detainees. One Bush administration argument asserts that only military officials — not federal judges — have the power to decide how to conclude wartime detentions.
Officials and lawyers inside and outside of the government say the new legal confrontation suggests that the Bush administration will most likely continue its defense of the detention camp until the end of President Bush’s term and is not likely to close the camp, as administration officials have said they would like to do. [Emphasis added]
I find it astounding that in the face of the Supreme Court's decision the administration is now proposing that the federal judiciary has no power over the issue. I would think that kind of twisted logic wouldn't fly even in Lewis Carroll's Alice In Wonderland, yet there it is.
I suppose the real reason for the delays is that President Bush doesn't want yet another war time loss. It would only blemish his legacy. Let the next guy sort this out, along with all of the other messes being left behind. Yet the lengths to which the government is going is, well, criminal:
...In some cases, government lawyers are adding new grounds for holding the men, supplementing or replacing the accusations made during Guantánamo hearings four years ago.
What, the original charges won't fly? Well, then, let's invent some new ones so that we can keep the defense lawyers so off guard they can't possibly do their jobs. Who knows? Some of them might even sound believable, especially if we don't tell the defendants until they walk through the hearing doors.
I am even more ashamed than I ever thought possible.
Labels: Guantanamo Bay, habeas corpus, Justice, Terra Terra Terra
posted by Diane at 9:00 AM
2 Comments:
Unfortunately the Circuit Court on friday finally got around (2 years later) to throwing out my client's appeal to get medical care and to get his medical records. Seems that despite Boumediene they do not have jurisdiction and anyway we did not show "irreparable harm." I guess we have to wait for his death.
Candace, that hollow thud you hear is my head beating against the wall.
Hang in their, dear saint. I still have hope, albeit far less than I had in June.
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