Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Washington Post
September 19, 2008
Pg. 18
The Post was wrong to say that Sens. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) and Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) "have rightly stepped in" ["Detainees' Day in Court," editorial, Sept. 17] by introducing a bill to mandate the procedures the courts must follow in the habeas hearings for Guantanamo Bay detainees. At best, the legislation is unnecessary, repeating procedures for habeas review and for the handling of classified information that are already established by existing law. At worst, it would interfere with habeas cases underway, cause confusion and raise constitutional issues that could only delay the "prompt" habeas corpus hearings ordered by the Supreme Court.
The detainees at Guantanamo have been imprisoned there for more than six years without receiving a fair hearing. Congress should let the courts do their job.
The habeas corpus review ordered by the Supreme Court is modest but fundamental. It simply requires the government to demonstrate to an independent judge that it has a reasonable basis for detaining a prisoner. It is the most basic protection against arbitrary and mistaken imprisonment. U.S. courts have handled these cases since our country was founded. They are fully capable of handling these cases now without further legislation.
THOMAS WILNER, Washington
The writer was counsel of record to Guantanamo detainees in the Supreme Court's June 2004 and June 2008 rulings in their favor on habeas corpus rights.
September 19, 2008
Pg. 18
The Post was wrong to say that Sens. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) and Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) "have rightly stepped in" ["Detainees' Day in Court," editorial, Sept. 17] by introducing a bill to mandate the procedures the courts must follow in the habeas hearings for Guantanamo Bay detainees. At best, the legislation is unnecessary, repeating procedures for habeas review and for the handling of classified information that are already established by existing law. At worst, it would interfere with habeas cases underway, cause confusion and raise constitutional issues that could only delay the "prompt" habeas corpus hearings ordered by the Supreme Court.
The detainees at Guantanamo have been imprisoned there for more than six years without receiving a fair hearing. Congress should let the courts do their job.
The habeas corpus review ordered by the Supreme Court is modest but fundamental. It simply requires the government to demonstrate to an independent judge that it has a reasonable basis for detaining a prisoner. It is the most basic protection against arbitrary and mistaken imprisonment. U.S. courts have handled these cases since our country was founded. They are fully capable of handling these cases now without further legislation.
THOMAS WILNER, Washington
The writer was counsel of record to Guantanamo detainees in the Supreme Court's June 2004 and June 2008 rulings in their favor on habeas corpus rights.