Supreme Court restores habeas corpus rights for Gitmo detainees

Yesterday, in a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the prisoners we're holding at Guantanamo Bay have a Constitutional right to challenge their detention in a federal court.

Justices Alito, Roberts, Scalia, and Thomas dissented.

This decision is a blow to the Bush administration's policy of holding prisoners indefinitely without charge and then trying them in kangaroo courts (i.e., a highly defective military tribunal system).

And it is a victory for those of us who believe in justice. Consider, for example, a study by Seton Hall University which found that 55 percent of Gitmo detainees are not determined to have committed any hostile acts against the United States or its coalition allies, and only eight percent were characterized as al-Qaeda fighters. Until now, they were at the mercy of George W. Bush's whims.

In an e-mail, Nan Aron of the Alliance for Justice shared the following observations in response to yesterday's ruling:

The Supreme Court has previously ruled on two separate occasions that people held at Guantanamo without charges can go to the federal courts to ask that the government justify their continued detention. Each time, the Bush administration and Congress changed the law in an attempt to prevent the detainees from accessing the courts.

While today's decision was a victory for the U.S. Constitution and fairness, it is a painful reminder of the precarious balance of the federal judiciary, and the need to remain vigilant when considering judicial nominees. More than 30 percent of all sitting federal judges have been appointed by President George W. Bush.

Indeed. And the possibilities are very disturbing when you consider that John McCain has said that, if elected President, he would appoint judges like Alito and Scalia to the Supreme Court.

Meantime, it will be interesting to see how the Bushies, who seem to believe that they are above the law, will react to this latest Court decision.