Supreme Court to Review Presidential Powers

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-scotus12jan12,1,7832435.story?coll=la-home-headlines

The Supreme Court has set the stage for a series of rulings on the reach of presidential power, decisions that could arrive just as voters focus on whether to endorse President Bush and his strong style of executive leadership.

Since November, the justices have voted to take up five cases that test the president's power to act alone and without interference by Congress or the courts. They involve imprisoning foreign fighters at overseas bases, holding U.S. citizens without charges in military brigs, preserving the secrecy of White House meetings, enforcing free-trade treaties despite environmental concerns and abducting foreigners charged with U.S. crimes.

The case taken up Friday may be the broadest of all. Two years ago, the White House said the president had the power to designate U.S. citizens "unlawful enemy combatants" and hold them in secret military custody, without filing charges or allowing them to plead their innocence.

Bush's lawyers said the "time-honored laws and customs of war" gave the commander in chief the power to hold captured soldiers. But not until recently had a president contended that his military power extended to arresting Americans on U.S. soil.

[SadEagle]

1. "strong style of executive leadership"?

That's what passes as journalism these days !?

[Pale_Rider]

2. Its that damn liberal media ...

... again. /sarcasm

[moof]

3. just an oversight or typo, strong/strongarm easy error

n/t

[PartyPooper]

5. That's code for "Dicktator" in imperial Amerika!

:eyes:

[Andy_Stephenson]

7. You mean

Dicktater of course.

[Jazzgirl]

10. I noticed that "strong style" statement first too.

Strong is not what I would call it. Facist is what I'd call it.

Jazzgirl x(

[HawkerHurricane]

4. They'll claim that...

'this decision only counts for Bush, and not for any other possibly Democratic president.'
You know, like the Florida decision.

[ahimsa]

6. Cheney/Scalia are still...

..negotiating the exact phrase.

:tinfoilhat:

[Judi Lynn]

8. Unbelievable word choice. Could have been chosen by Ari Fleisher.

Thought this was interesting, however:

"The Supreme Court appears poised to issue the most important set of decisions about the scope of presidential power since World War II," said Deborah Pearlstein, director of the law and national security program for the Lawyers Committee on Human Rights. She said the high court's move "sends a clear message that the president's power to detain U.S. citizens is subject to certain limits."

Veteran lawyers who have argued before the Supreme Court compared the lineup of pending cases to the era when President Nixon was in the White House.

"This administration has massively asserted presidential power unlike any since Nixon," said Alan B. Morrison, a lawyer for Public Citizen, a liberal group that has opposed Bush in several pending cases. "The thread running through all these cases is that don't believe the part of separation of powers that has checks and balances in it. They say they have a right to do it because it is a war, and they don't have to be bound by all these constraints in the law." (snip)

Thanks to rmpalmer for the article.

[Democat]

9. More right wing media B.S.

The media preview we say in California during the recall is going to be amplified during 2004. All Bush is great, Democrats suck, all the time.

[BigBadDaddy-O]

11. Are the one's who put him in power now worried themselves?

Me thinks that more than the Democrats are getting a little frightened of the dude and his entourage. Like the say "never give the devil a ride, because he is gona want to drive!"