Monday, May 11, 2009

Judge Shocks America

...Before last year, the courts always recognized the enormous difference between prosecuting criminals and fighting a war. Habeas corpus applies to American citizens or people on American soil as part of domestic policy. When invoked, it requires the government to apply all of those rights listed above. It’s a civilian process deliberately biased in favor of defendants that is focused on our courts under Article III of the Constitution.

War, on the other hand, is a military matter. It’s part of foreign policy under the president’s commander-in-chief power in Article II of the Constitution. It’s deliberately biased in favor of American power, intended to protect American lives and our national security.

Then Boumediene v. Bush came along, striking down the military commission system in Guantanamo Bay. For the first time, with a 5-4 split decision, the Article III branch chose to override the Article I Congress that created the military commission system and the Article II president who was fighting a war. The four conservative justices that dissented in that case warned that America would regret the majority’s decision.

Today may be the beginning of that regret.

Habeas here means everyone captured on battlefields is presumed innocent and gets taxpayer-funded defense lawyers and every right of Americans.

That includes making the soldiers involved to be flown back to the U.S. for the terrorist’s trial, where they’ll have to testify and defend themselves. The soldiers will have to provide evidence to prove their allegations about the terrorist defendant. If they can’t prove every part of what they say, the terrorist will go free.

[We've serious problems with the Judicial Branch, it needs be brought back under citizen control, and not vice-versa.]

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