Last week I interviewed a lawyer from the Center for Constitutional Rights about a Supreme Court case argued yesterday (12/5/07) about the right of habeas corpus for those who are, um, “detained” at Gitmo in Cuba and classifed as “enemy combatants” in the open-ended war on terrorism.
The LA Times has a good article  highlighting some of the courtroom action and how the justices reacted to the lawyers representing both sides of the case. It seems the major constitutional issue is as follows: Does the right of habeas corpus only apply  to American citizens and non-citizens (also known as “aliens”) who are on U.S. soil? Or, as the LA Times wrote, [does it extend] “to all people held by U.S. authorities in areas under U.S. control?”
It’s going to take months to sort this out, but have a listen to the podcast and let me know what you think!
J
December 6, 2007 at 11:17 amI heard a bit of this on the radio…another big issue, though not a Constitutional one, is whether Gitmo is considered U.S. soil or not. Since it is completely under U.S. control, the answer seems like it should be yes, but since it’s in Cuba, the answer could technically be no.
J
December 6, 2007 at 11:35 amI went and listened to the podcast…very thoughtful and well done! And of course, you both brought up the point that I had mentioned above, that I heard on NPR as well. 🙂
Lalunas
December 6, 2007 at 1:05 pmSorry I posted my comment on this in the previous blog entry. Sorry..
Very well done.