smooth wombat's Journal: Supreme Court to Bush: No military trial at Gitmo

I had contemplated using the subject, 'Supreme Court to Bush: suck it', but didn't feel that, while truthful, it wouldn't be descriptive enough for the five or so of you who read my postings to want to dally. So, with that bit of rambling out of the way:

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the president DOES NOT have the power to try detainees held at Guantanmo using military tribunals. The Court did not dispute the right of the government to hold the detainees.

The ruling was 5-3 with Chief Justice Roberts not participating. Last year, before he was elevated to the Court, Roberts had ruled against the government's position.

The Court ruled that there is no express authorization by Congress for the president to use military commissions in this manner.

Good News,

[Shadow Wrought]

Very good news, indeed. I would have read it either way, too. Signed, 20% of your readers;-)

Doesn't mean that much

[Billosaur]

The Pres doesn't believe the Supreme Court has jurisdiction here, since the detentions are military matters during a "war." I suspect they will go right on doing what they're doing despite this, as who's going to stop them? It's not like the Joint Chiefs are suddenly going to turn on the Commander-In-Chief and force him to stop.

I think if we're going to have a "war on terror," then we have to conduct it in an honorable fashion, lest we enflame the negative opinions about us that are already pervasive in t

You Mean

[jlechem]

We have to give people we throw in jail a fair trial, rights to a layer, and overall just plain humane treatment normal citizens are privy to? The horror, the horror. The terrorists are winning the war my friends.

No seriously, this is good news. The president and military should not be judge, jury, and executioner in these things.

Slashdot's Bush apologists seem to be laying low..

[geoswan]

IMO this ruling is not just good news for those of us who believe in the rule of law, it also makes us all safer.

Many people seem to have forgotten Benjamin Franklin's warning, that those who sacrifice Liberty for Security deserve neither. They argue that we must surrender our rights, in a post-911 world, in order to be safe. And, by their reasoning, sacrificing frills, like the rule of law, in Guantanamo, is one of the sacrifices we have to make -- even if it means some innocent guys have been held for