Yesterday, the Constitution won. In a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court said that prisoners being held at Guantanamo Bay have the right to have their cases heard in US courts, granting them the writ of habeas corpus. Writing for the majority in Boumediene v. Bush, Justice Anthony Kennedy said, "Liberty and security can be reconciled; and in our system they are reconciled within the framework of the law. The Framers decided that habeas corpus, a right of first importance, must be a part of that framework, a part of that law."
President Bush was none too happy with the decision, saying, while on a trip in Italy, "First of all it's a Supreme Court decision. We will abide by the court's decision. It was a deeply divided court and I strongly agree with those who dissented. The dissent was based upon those serious concerns about U.S. national security. Congress and the administration worked very carefully on ... a piece of legislation that set the appropriate procedures in place as to how to deal with the detainees." He went on to say that his Administration would study the ruling, " ... with this in mind, to determine whether or not additional legislation might be appropriate so we can safely say to the American people: 'We're doing everything we can to protect you.'"
I am not surprised at all that Bush is pissed. It's hard to keep your citizens under the blanket of fear when the courts expose the "enemies," like Omad Khadr, to the light of day. But it's a huge victory for America when the Court allows the rest of world to see that our system of checks and balances can, even at the last stop, prevail. The Constitution was bruised and battered along its way through, being hit hard by both the executive and legislative branches. It then was dealt near death blows by the courts along its way to the highest court in the land. But the highest court saved it and proved that our system does, indeed, work. This was a victory not only for the Constitution, but for the framework of our government detailed therein.
Writing for the opposition and speaking from the bench about his opposition, Justice Antonin Scalia said that the decision "... will almost certainly cause more Americans to be killed." I'm not sure how. These prisoners have been held at Gitmo for years. Were any of them truly guilty, their fellow combatants would not get the message from this ruling that they could get caught, extradited to the US, have a short, easy confinement, get a fair day in a lenient US court, be set free, and return to the battlefield. That's just not the way it works and not the way it will be seen in the world. The message it does send the world, however, is that we are finally taking our role as human rights leaders seriously.
To read the Opinion and the Dissent for yourself, go here: FindLaw.com
Cross posted from The Constitution has finally prevailed at AshPolitics on WordPress.
The Cahtholic Church recognizes the responsibility of the State to defend its citizens, but insists that "In a State ruled by law the power to inflict punishment is correctly entrusted to the Courts; 'In defining the proper relationships between the legislative, executive and judicial powers, the Constitutions of modern States guarantee the judicial power the necessary independence in the realm of law.'" (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church at Para. 402, quoting JPII's Address to the Italian Association of Judges)(emphasis in original).
ReplyDeleteFurther, "In carrying out investigations, the regulation against the use of torture, even in the case of serious crimes, must be strictly observed: 'Christ's disciple refuses every recourse to such methods, which nothing could justify and in which the dignity of man is as much debased in his torturer as in the torturer's victim.'"
The recruitment of terrorists is easier in situations where rights are trampled and injustices are tolerated over a long period of time. The self-evident egalitarian principles embodied in our Constitution and the Bill of Rights are our best weapon in the "War on Terrorism."
If you read Justice Kennedy's Majority opinion, you'll see that the ruling is fully in line with all of these principles that the Church insists upon.
What do the four Justices who dissented have in common? They are each Catholics appointed by Republican Presidents; Supreme Court justices who can't be bothered to do more than pay lip service to their Christian faith.