High court hears Gitmo detainee rights case

The justices appear split, with Kennedy in the middle. Regardless of the ruling, which may be months away, the prisoners' fate may rest with the next president.

By David G. Savage, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
December 6, 2007

WASHINGTON -- Nearly six years after foreign prisoners were first sent to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, a clearly divided Supreme Court debated Wednesday how to determine whether these men are dangerous enemy fighters or innocent bystanders caught up in the U.S. war against terrorism.

Regardless of what the court decides, the answer will not come for many months. And the likelihood is that even a ruling next spring in favor of the detained men would not necessarily result in immediate freedom for any of them. Unless the Bush administration acts to close Guantanamo, the fate of the prison and its inmates may rest with the next president.

Two options were before the high court Wednesday:

One was to treat Guantanamo as a military matter and to defer to the Pentagon to decide who will be held there and for how long.

The second option was to treat the detainees as U.S. prisoners, not enemy fighters. Under the Constitution and the traditions of American law, those who are held by the government have the right to go before a judge and plead their innocence.

The justices appeared to be split, with four leaning in favor of the Bush administration and the Pentagon, and four in favor of allowing the detainees their day in court. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy appeared to favor a middle course -- one that would require the military to give full and fair hearings to the detainees.

More?

I favor treating Guantanamo as a military matter and to defer to the Pentagon to decide who will be held there and for how long.

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"Destiny must be shaped and not left to mere chance."..Spencer Collins ..

Same...

Over two dozen prisoners at Guantanimo that have been released have been re-captured or killed warring with the US....

That's bad enough!...Now imagine that number when high profile lawyers are brought into it...:

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"You get the respect that you give" - cnredd

How were they arrested? If the military initiated an arrest, that person's case would fall under the jurisdiction of the military. If FBI made some arrests,
then a trial is warranted. If it was the CIA, maybe a war tribunal should take place.

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I wouldn't let National Security be at risk based on how they were captured...

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"You get the respect that you give" - cnredd

Any chance of when they are caught again we put their lawyers in with them?
And if they want them released they should be released into those politician's neighborhood.

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"Most people can't think, most of the remainder won't think, the small fraction who do think mostly can't do it very well. The extremely tiny fraction who think regularly, accurately, creatively and without self delusion---In the long run these are the only people that count."Robert Heinlein