Action: Opportunity to Restore Habeas Corpus

[helderheid]

Legislative Action Message: March 1, 2007




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Take Action
Urge your senators to support S. 185

The new Congress has the chance to restore one of the oldest and most important checks on arbitrary governmental power, the protection of habeas corpus. This principle -- that no government is above the law and that all detainees can challenge the fairness of their detention in front of an independent court -- has been a cornerstone of Anglo-Saxton legal systems for 800 years.

In 2006, at the president’s request, Congress changed U.S. law so that certain detainees who are not citizens can now be denied the ability to question whether they are being wrongfully detained. We at FCNL believe a majority of senators support restoring habeas corpus rights for non-citizen detainees, but these senators need to be encouraged to act.

The Habeas Corpus Restoration Act (S. 185) (http://capwiz.com/fconl/issues/bills/?bill=9251101), a bipartisan bill introduced by Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Arlen Specter (R-PA), the chair and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, would restore the right of detainees held by the U.S. at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and elsewhere around the world to challenge the legality of their detention in a U.S. federal court. As of March 1, the legislation has six co-sponsors. In order for the Senate to move forward on this bill, it needs more members’ support, much more support.
Take Action

Please contact your senators (http://capwiz.com/fconl/issues/alert/?alertid=9253661&type=CO) and ask them to cosponsor S. 185, the Habeas Corpus Restoration Act. If they are already cosponsors, thank them and urge them to encourage their colleagues to schedule a hearing and a vote on this bill.
Background

U.S. detainees labeled “unlawful enemy combatants,” imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and elsewhere around the world, currently do not have any procedure by which they can petition an independent judicial body to claim that they are being wrongfully detained. In October 2006, with the passage of the Military Commissions Act (MCA), Congress and the president stripped non-citizen detainees of the ability to question the legality of their detention in U.S. federal courts.

The Habeas Corpus Restoration Act (S. 185) is a short, simple bill that would repeal the habeas corpus-stripping provision of the MCA. The bill, introduced by Senators Leahy and Specter, is cosponsored as of March 1 by Senators Sherrod Brown (OH), Dianne Feinstein (CA), Frank Lautenberg (NJ), Hillary Clinton (NY), Russ Feingold (WI), and Ken Salazar (CO). We at FCNL are urging more senators to cosponsor this legislation, to urge the Senate to hold hearings on the bill, and to schedule a vote.

Habeas corpus has been a part of Anglo-Saxon legal tradition for nearly 800 years. It is a fundamental principle of the rule of law, protecting detainees from wrongful imprisonment. The Habeas Corpus Restoration Act would right the shameful legislative action in the MCA, and would allow independent courts to examine U.S. detention of non-citizen individuals labeled by the administration as “unlawful enemy combatants.”
Read More

* The Military Commissions Act at a Glance (http://www.fcnl.org/issues/item.php?item_id=2135&issue_id=70 )
* More on habeas corpus (http://www.fcnl.org/torture/)

Contacting Legislators

Contact your members of Congress through FCNL's web site.

Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121

Sen. ________
U.S. Senate

Washington, DC 20510

Rep. ________
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

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Contact the President through FCNL's web site.

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[porphyrian]

1. I'll kick that. - n/t

[stellanoir]

2. 2nd rec

Repeal HAVA, IWR, and MCA would be the top priority of anyone who cares about us and our kid's futures IMHO.

And "Ooga, Booga, Smooga, Wooga" to you as ever dear.

OBSW = "Oh Bull Shit W"

[helderheid]

6. OBSW!

:hi:

[waiting for hope]

3. K & R....

and off to the GP with you.....

[helderheid]

4. Thank you all!

[Blue State Blues]

5. k & R n/t

[Czolgosz]

7. If habeas corpus is an important issue for you, please consider a candidate other than Richardson

Richardson has voted against protecting the right for prisoners who have been given the death penalty in state courts to petition for writ of habeas corpus on constitutional grounds in the federal courts.

Vote on Bill HR 2703, Mar. 14, 1996.

This vote against federal habeas corpus appeals matches with Richardson's support for (1) the death penalty, (2) mandatory jail time, even for non-violent offenders, (3) excluding any option of offering life-without-parole as an alternative to the death penalty, (4) prosecuting minors as adults, (5) expanding the number of federal crimes punishable by death, and (6) eliminating parole for anyone convicted of a violent crime.

See http://www.ontheissues.org/2008/Bill_Richardson_Crime.htm#1996-64

[helderheid]

8. I was unaware of this (he's not my guy anyway because of his stopping the recount in '04)