Judging on commentary and apparent results; in the face of a statute depriving them of jurisdiction...a majority of the Supreme Court has given us a well-written opinion that quotes precedent, analyzes statutes and does all the usual lawyerly things, that appears to be utterly devoid of common sense.
The opinion is 185 pages long, and I haven't finished reading it yet, but the Supreme Court appears to have stuck its beak into matters that are not its proper concern. More perhaps, when I am done reading.
UPDATE: Yuri Mamchur reminds us that, unlike the New York Times or our Supreme Court, Russian President Vladimir Putin knows how to deal with precious little terrorists.
2 comments:
As far as I can determine, the ruling applies only to the persons named in the case all of whom were captured by essentially law enforcemnt personnell. They were then processed as a common criminal would be through the system.
The rest of the detainees were captured and classified immediately as 'enemy combatants' who, by Geneva Conventions, can be held without formal charge or trials until the end of the war.
The ruling says the President exceeded the authority granted the office as it existed at that time. Further legislation to expand the authority to include what the President did for future actions is needed and is in the works.
I don't think this is going to play out as much of a negative for Presidential power as many pundits are supposing. A better ruling would have included the hanging of the New York and LA Times editors and reporters.
Now Indigo, you have to be careful about that hanging the New York Times, and LA Times editors talk. As combatants for a hostile power, they probably get the protection of the Geneva convention.
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