U.S.: Detainees Have No Constitutional Rights

[realFedUp]

http://talkleft.com/new_archives/014025.html

U.S.: Detainees Have No Constitutional Rights

The Government has filed its response brief in (Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, docket 05-184). Oral Argument is Friday.

The Bush Administration told the Supreme Court on Monday that the Justices could put a stop to a foreign national's challenge to a military war crimes trial without worrying about any constitutional violations, since detainees like him have no rights under the Constitution. In the latest court filing by the Justice Department on the meaning of the new Detainee Treatment Act, the Justice Department argued: "The Constitution does not guarantee aliens held abroad a right to habeas corpus." As a result, it said, Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a Yemeni national, "cannot claim the protection of our Constitution."

Shorter version: Detainees have no constitutional rights

Longer Version: The text of the Government's brief (pdf).
http://www.scotusblog.com/movabletype/archives/Hamden.05-184.r2eplybrief.pdf