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16 Former Federal Judges Say New Legislation 'Unwarranted' to Address Guantanamo Detainee Habeas RightsWashington, DC – Congress does not need to pass new legislation to guide federal courts in their review of habeas cases in which individuals at the Guantánamo Bay detention facility challenge the lawfulness of their detention, according to a new report endorsed by sixteen former federal judges released today by two leading rights organizations, the Constitution Project and Human Rights First. In the report, Habeas Works: Federal Courts' Proven Capacity to Handle Guantánamo Cases, the former federal judges conclude that attacks on the judiciary's ability to review habeas cases are unfounded, as are calls for Congressional intervention. Simply put, the report finds, habeas is working. The report marks the second anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Boumediene v. Bush, which laid the ground for District Court judges to review habeas cases of the Guantánamo detainees and develop the constitutional framework for reviewing cases. The report examines how the courts have moved deliberately and thoughtfully in developing an effective jurisprudence in habeas cases that addresses the government's interest in national security, while protecting the right of prisoners to fairly challenge their detention. The report, Habeas Works, concludes: "The Guantánamo litigation has tested the judiciary as it has tested the nation. But the judiciary, like the country and the Constitution it serves, has risen to the challenge. As former judges, we do not doubt for an instant that Congress has the power, within constitutional limits, to draft a detailed code that would set this litigation on yet a new direction. Congress could, within limits, write a new detention standard for the courts to apply. Congress could, within limits, write different procedural rules to govern this litigation. But such a course is at once unwise and unnecessary: unwise because it would bring us back to square one just when the courts are finally beginning to resolve these cases; and unnecessary because the federal bench, as it has done for centuries, is steadily developing a coherent and rational jurisprudence. Habeas is working." Habeas Works: Federal Courts' Proven Capacity to Handle Guantánamo Cases was endorsed by the following former federal judges:
To view Habeas Works: Federal Courts' Proven Capacity to Handle Guantánamo Cases, go to: - 30 - |
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