DC Circuit Rules Constitutional Habeas Does Not Extend To Guantanamo

By Big Tent Democrat, Section Constitution
Posted on Tue Feb 20, 2007 at 12:00:13 PM EST
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In a divided 2-1 ruling, Boumediene v. Bush, a panel of the DC Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the "enemy alien" detainees at Guantanamo do not have a Constitutional right to a writ of habeas corpus. The decision is an exercise in disengenuity. It accepts as undisputed fact, with the merest discussion - that the detainees do not have a Constitutional habeas right because (1) Guantanamo is outside of the control of the US government in direct contradiction to the Supreme Court holding in Rasul and that (2) the detainees are "enemy aliens" for habeas purposes.