"How Easy It Would Be For President To Use Law To Make Enemies Disappear"

[kpete]

Oct. 9, 2006, 5:03PM
Bankruptcy Judge Denounces U.S. Policy


By LAURA MCGANN Dow Jones Newswires
© 2006 The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — A judge who usually constrains his opinions to the technicalities of bankruptcy law broke from habit last week and denounced U.S. policy on the detention of "enemy combatants" as "the tactics of the old Soviet Union."

.......................

"The very idea of holding anyone without trial, without the right to see the evidence that was used to justify naming them an enemy combatant, and depriving them of the ability to challenge why they're even there, is so repugnant to a constitutional democracy that I'm shocked this man actually claims to be defending American values," Clark said in the e-mail.

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"How easy it would be for a president to use such a law to make his political enemies simply disappear. Can this be America?" Clark said in the e-mail.

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The outburst surprised other judges and could subject Clark to disciplinary action, lawyers said. Clark, a judge in San Antonio, Texas, was unavailable to comment Monday.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/4246728.html

[mmonk]

1. Disciplinary action?

What would that be?

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

4. Not sure what his punishment will be at present...

...but a few years from now, people who pop off like Judge Clark will be made to "disappear."

[walldude]

11. Ironic is what it would be...

Or insane...

[Atman]

2. The "OUTBURST" will subject him to DISCIPLINARY ACTION???

Hmm...it sounds as if he is exactly right! how terribly ironic!

.

[Canuckistanian]

7. Lawyers said that

And they may not be completely "partial", if you know what I mean....

[robinlynne]

13. a judge. for voicing an opinion, no less.

[HereSince1628]

3. Unfortunately, far, far too easy.

Bush and whoever controls the poltical agenda in his administration now have all the tools to invoke totalitarian control. Addiction to power for the sake of power will inevitably lead to this being used on domestic political opponents.

[Pacifist Patriot]

5. Voicing a critical opinion is subject to disciplinary action?

*shudder*

[tavalon]

6. I lived in San Antonio for 16 years

It's hard to imagine any judge there actually say something, so, democratic.

[Hugin]

8. Soviet tactics? Heck, it's been the main SOP for every totalitarian state

Since the beginning of recorded history... and probably pre-dates written language.

One might even call it the oldest preoccupation.

[madokie]

9. gitmo him

it might be better than the old standbys, suicides, heartattacks and plane crashes. at least there will be a chance to rescue him

[w4rma]

10. The Houston Chronicle sure did their research on how to try to shut this

judge up. Either that, or the Republican Party did the research and fed it to the Houston Chronicle.

I think the Pukes are going to try to do something (within their interpretation of the "law", of course) to this judge. They are truely fascists.

[Land Shark]

12. This judge's comments were appropriate FOR UNIQUE TIMES

as a lawyer, I think his comments were dead on. Even Scalia says the following:

"The very core of liberty secured by our Anglo-Saxon system of separated powers has been freedom from indefinite imprisonment at the will of the Executive." Judge Antonin Scalia

This quote is related to the Hamdi case, which Congress basically attempted to overturn in the Military Commissions ACt of 2006. The judge's sworn an oath to uphold the Constitution and is taking it seriously. he is to be praised, IMHO, despite that normally judges might be less opinionated. But in this case it's not purely "opinion" it's black letter law, the "very core of liberty" as even Scalia recognizes.

[Marie26]

14. Do you think Scalia would vote to overturn?

It seems like he would, based on his belief in "constructualism" & strict interpretation of the Constitution as written - but then again, he is in deep with the Bush Administration & seems to believe that the little people should bow before his splendiferousness. So it's hard to tell.

[Land Shark]

15. Well scalia wrote in the Hamdi case that "the very core of liberty"

is freedom from indefinite detention at the will of the Executive. Just shows how radical eliminating habeas corpus is, because that makes indefinite detention at the will of the executive perfectly possible.