Chairman Conyers Applauds Supreme Court Decision Upholding Habeas Corpus Rights at Guantanamo

AP - June 12, 2008

The Supreme Court has dealt the Bush administration a third setback in how it treats foreign terrorism suspects being held indefinitely at Guantanamo Bay.

In a 5-4 decision, the court has ruled that the detainees have the constitutional right to challenge their detention in U.S. civilian courts. In writing for the majority, Justice Anthony Kennedy says "the laws and Constitution are designed to survive, and remain in force, in extraordinary times."

The court also says that the classification and review processs that the government has in place for the detainees is not a sufficient substitute for the civilian judicial system.

From the Judiciary Committee:

Conyers Applauds Supreme Court Decision Upholding Habeas Corpus Rights at Guantanamo

(Washington, DC)- Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) released the following statement in response to the United States Supreme Court's decision reaffirming habeas corpus at Guantanamo Bay:

The Supreme Court has affirmed what we've known to be true for some time: that detainees at Guantanamo Bay have a right to challenge their imprisonment in a court. It is simply not the American way to deny that right and now as the Supreme Court has ruled, it is unconstitutional. The Court was rightly outraged that some of the parties in this case had been held for six years without being given the right to challenge their detention before an impartial court. I applaud today's decision and look forward to the scales of justice being returned to their proper balance.