Rheias
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On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments for a third time in a major case involving the rights of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The importance of the case was underlined by the fact that for the first time this term, the court authorized the same day release of audio of the argument.
Even the pre-dawn snowfall did not deter about 73 people from sleeping on the Supreme Court plaza in hopes of getting one of the few public seats for Wednesday's argument. This was a historic day at the high court, and everyone knew it.
The question facing the court is whether the detainees have the right to go into the U.S. courts to challenge their detentions, using the constitutionally guaranteed procedure called a writ of habeas corpus. The Founding Fathers put the writ into the Constitution as a check on the government's power to arbitrarily put someone in prison.
But the Bush administration, backed by the federal appeals court in Washington, contends that the detainees have no constitutional rights because they are being held outside the United States, and that even if they do, the Constitution allows suspension of the writ of habeas corpus if an alternative is put into place that is adequate and effective.
Even the pre-dawn snowfall did not deter about 73 people from sleeping on the Supreme Court plaza in hopes of getting one of the few public seats for Wednesday's argument. This was a historic day at the high court, and everyone knew it.
The question facing the court is whether the detainees have the right to go into the U.S. courts to challenge their detentions, using the constitutionally guaranteed procedure called a writ of habeas corpus. The Founding Fathers put the writ into the Constitution as a check on the government's power to arbitrarily put someone in prison.
But the Bush administration, backed by the federal appeals court in Washington, contends that the detainees have no constitutional rights because they are being held outside the United States, and that even if they do, the Constitution allows suspension of the writ of habeas corpus if an alternative is put into place that is adequate and effective.
Court Divided After Day One of Guantanamo Case
The Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday to decide whether prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have the right to challenge their detention in court, using the constitutionally guaranteed procedure called a writ of habeas corpus.
www.npr.org
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