BREAKING: Supreme Court Rules Gitmo Detainees Have Constitutional Rights To Federal Courts

The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that foreign terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo Bay have rights under the Constitution to challenge their detention in U.S. civilian courts.
The justices handed the Bush administration its third setback at the high court since 2004 over its treatment of prisoners who are being held indefinitely and without charges at the U.S. naval base in Cuba. The vote was 5-4, with the court's liberal justices in the majority.
Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the court, said, "The laws and Constitution are designed to survive, and remain in force, in extraordinary times."
It was not immediately clear whether this ruling, unlike the first two, would lead to prompt hearings for the detainees, some who have been held more than 6 years. Roughly 270 men remain at the island prison, classified as enemy combatants and held on suspicion of terrorism or links to al-Qaida and the Taliban.

Stand by for more.

UPDATE: Gabe (an actual law school grad) has analysis and updates. Please use that as the main thread. It's a big enough story for a breaking and secondary post.

Just keep in mind...our enemies are laughing at us.

One last thought...will the US Military now have to read everyone they capture their Miranda rights? Will they have to collect and preserve evidence the same way cops do? How can they not if the people they capture will now be going to regular US criminal courts? The bottom line...it will be impossible to get convictions but that's just a minor inconvenience if you are an exalted justice of the US Supreme Court.

Posted by: DrewM. at 10:35 AM

Comments

1 Wow.

I just did not see this coming.

I guess this makes the battlefield decision that much easier and less dangerous. No prisoners.

Posted by: krakatoa at June 12, 2008 10:39 AM (/FUhT)

2 Judges matter.

Posted by: Loren Heal at June 12, 2008 10:39 AM (uiKEv)

3 I thought those detainees were all lawyered-up already anyway.

Posted by: gp at June 12, 2008 10:39 AM (B9rV2)

4 270/5=54.

Release 54 of them in the front yards of each of the justices who ruled in the majority.

Posted by: hindmost at June 12, 2008 10:40 AM (+3FX6)

5 The laws and Constitution are designed to survive, and remain in force, in extraordinary times.

How fucking profound.

Posted by: Dr. Remulak at June 12, 2008 10:44 AM (YmPwQ)

6

Truly flaming skull material.

Posted by: Tinian at June 12, 2008 10:45 AM (1Mq7K)

7 I agree with 1.
If our troops are given the green light to sanitize the kill zones, there wouldn't be any detainees left to transfer to G'mo.

Double taps all around!

Posted by: The Other Shoe at June 12, 2008 10:46 AM (9zflH)

8 Is their clear legal standing for the courts to actually have their order enforced?

This is war, and those aren't citizens. What bits of the constitution are they citing that allows them to intervene in the holding of prisoners of war who are not citizens?

And judges matter?

Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama also support shutting down the prison.

How about we elect a president that might give us Conservative judges then?

Posted by: krakatoa at June 12, 2008 10:46 AM (/FUhT)

This is why airstrikes and SEAL teams are way, way better than warrants, blue lights and sirens in "prosecuting" terror suspects.

And Justice Kennedy is now Grand Poobah of Idiots International in my book.

Posted by: Circa (Insert Year Here) at June 12, 2008 10:48 AM (B+qrE)

10 And guess who pays for the defense and the filings of these pieces of filth?

YOU! Isn't that lovely?

HOPECHANGE!

Posted by: Good Lt at June 12, 2008 10:50 AM (jH17H)

One more observation:

Dear Leftards,

The dictatorship well has run dry. Get a new meme, because it turns out that the courts do still function as many, many of us said FROM THE VERY F'IN BEGINNING. I hope you are proud of charging up the hill against the President for these murdering jihadis.

Posted by: Circa (Insert Year Here) at June 12, 2008 10:51 AM (B+qrE)

12 When the Supreme Court ruled against Andrew Jackson's deportment of the Cherokee's he challenged them to enforce it. Same deal here. Let them try to enforce it..

Posted by: Thanatopsis at June 12, 2008 10:52 AM (IQwaU)

13 The laws and Constitution are designed to survive, and remain in force, in extraordinary times.

Kennedy declined to point out in the Constitution where the rights of non-uniformed enemy combatants not fighting under the auspices of a recognized nation are enumerated.

"I'm sure it was in there somewhere," he remarked.

Posted by: Good Lt at June 12, 2008 10:52 AM (jH17H)

14 Treason.

Posted by: DrZin at June 12, 2008 10:53 AM (nXbmM)

15 It's a good thing the liberals on the court and the Democrats in Congress are doing the jihadis' legal battle for them.

Now the Armies of Allah can focus on what really matters to them - killing Americans, non-jihadis and Jews.

Posted by: Good Lt at June 12, 2008 10:54 AM (jH17H)

Can you imagine what the Islamofascists are saying about this decision? They must be struggling to breathe for laughing so hard at our criminal stupidity.

To the anti-war left: I do hope you bozos realize that the Islamic terrorists would most likely single you out first for beheading and torturing since most of you lead "immoral and lewd" lives by their definition.

Pathetic.

Posted by: Paradigm Shift at June 12, 2008 10:54 AM (/s5j6)

17 Ah but the beauty of it is now since foreign citizens have the same rights & privlidges as Americans,we're required by the courts to invade foreign countries and set up Republican forms of government. So time for a Pax Americana

Posted by: HowardDevore at June 12, 2008 10:55 AM (+5FeQ)

18 I guess this makes the battlefield decision that much easier and less dangerous. No prisoners.

Best part is that IIRC, we wouldn't be violating the laws of war because they're irregular, non-uniformed combatants.

Why don't we just refit a nice US Navy cargo ship as a prison vessel, keeping it in international waters?

Posted by: IllTemperedCur at June 12, 2008 11:11 AM (Ds4I5)

Okay, so what does this mean for me? What's that you say? Summary execution of irregular combatants?

Thanks for nothing, Supreme Court!

Posted by: Terror Suspects Captured on Battlefields at June 12, 2008 11:12 AM (GFaLW)

The laws and Constitution are designed to survive, and remain in force, in extraordinary times.

To which I would reply, the Constitution isn't a suicide pact, either, you sonofabitch!

Posted by: Andy at June 12, 2008 11:13 AM (C3mTI)

21 Suppression of foreign terrorists' voting rights!

Posted by: EnochF at June 12, 2008 11:17 AM (VXm6y)

22 Guess field commanders won't be encouraging their troops to take anyone prisoner any longer. Or they'll be shot while trying to escape after a brief interrogation.

Posted by: GarandFan at June 12, 2008 11:53 AM (eJ32B)

23 Yep, the easy answer is do like the Spartans - take no prisoners!

Posted by: TRO at June 12, 2008 12:05 PM (NGLV2)

Guess field commanders won't be encouraging their troops to take anyone prisoner any longer. Or they'll be shot while trying to escape after a brief interrogation.

A brief and brisk interrogation.

Posted by: TRO at June 12, 2008 12:07 PM (NGLV2)

25 Who's side are they on? I love how the media calls this Supreme Court a "conservative" court! No way!

Posted by: Padre Steve at June 12, 2008 12:34 PM (/DbiS)

26 Re: 'Double tap'

Preferably with bullets dipped in pig's blood.

Just solved the Gitmo problem.

Next!

Posted by: phat at June 12, 2008 01:07 PM (BPRZk)

Ship the detainees all back to Iraq to be detained by the ISF.

Or, in other words, put them to death.

Hope you enjoy washing the blood from your hands, Supremes!

Posted by: mcgurk at June 12, 2008 01:07 PM (n3Ozc)

Also, if foreigners also have the right to habeas corpus, where DOES the line between the rights of American citizens and the rights of foreigners lay? Exactly what other rights do we have to extend to them?

Voting rights?

Posted by: mcgurk at June 12, 2008 01:11 PM (n3Ozc)

29 I bet the Sheik just started building a nice terrorist holding facility in Anbar.

Posted by: Purple Avenger at June 12, 2008 01:46 PM (c55NW)

30 Another example of the Bush admin fuck-ups shooting themselves in the foot.

If we had actually, like, tried some military commission cases by now . . .

if the Chief Prosecutor hadn't resigned because he said the whole process was rotten with political interference . . .

if a score or so military lawyers from both the prosecution and defense side hadn't come out and said the whole military commission process as it's been run is a kangaroo-court sham . . .

and if they just didn't replace and transfer the presiding military judge after he made a ruling against the government . . . .

maybe the Supreme Court would have ruled differently in this 5-4 case.

Posted by: icus at June 12, 2008 08:35 PM (qJz3Y)

31 no problemo, we stop taking prisoners.............

Posted by: bob dole at June 12, 2008 09:16 PM (hS/RG)

32 I have a wonderful idea, take these "detainees" and put them in Gen Pop at Attica, we won't have to worry about trials or anything after just a few minutes...

Posted by: Vilani at June 14, 2008 02:03 AM (39xqg)

33 C-130. 2,000 meters. Release prisoners. Try to appeal the law of gravity to the Supreme Court.

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