THE UNFORTUNATE REALITY IS THAT...

The Supreme Court Made a Mistake in 'Boumediene' (Glenn Sulmasy, June 19, 2008, US news)

The Boumediene holding permits aliens to exercise constitutional rights within U.S. courts of law. This has never been the policy of the United States, nor has the court ever granted such rights to those detained outside of U.S. jurisdiction. Additionally, it should be noted that this is the first of the Supreme Court cases since the attacks of 9/11 that actually declares that the military commission process contains a constitutional violation. While many on both sides of the aisle believe that Guantánamo and the military commissions might be flawed as a matter of policy (and, some say, of law) and think it is in the best interests of the nation to close Guantánamo, this case actually goes further and will have greater impact than if the commissions themselves were found to violate the Constitution. Justice Kennedy went to lengths to limit the decision to only those detained at Gitmo now, but his decision clearly will be analogized by some to other military bases overseas (e.g. Afghanistan) where detainees are held. The practical effect of flooding an already overburdened federal court system is more than likely. These detainees will not only have access to federal district courthouses but will gain the rights of American citizens to challenge their cases within the United States. One can only imagine further unprecedented constitutional challenges, such as applying the Fourth Amendment and the Fifth Amendment to the detainees, arguing these provisions of the Constitution apply to those searched or captured on the field of battle. This is not a stretch but a frightening, arguably unintended consequence of the decision.

...Muhammed Atta and company did less violence to the Republic than such Judicial overreach does.

Posted by Orrin Judd at June 19, 2008 1:04 PM