Right of Habeas Corpus
Right of Habeas Corpus
Scott Smith
POL 201
John Zurovchak
4/8/13
The Right of Habeas Corpus is derived from the Latin meaning “you have the body. The meaning according to the U.S. Constitution is the right of any person to question their incarceration before a judge. The violating of this right has not been the most severe of the civil liberties granted to not only Americans but many other countries. The biggest violation of this right was when the Busch administration held hundreds of suspected terrorist from the Afghan and Iraqi terror attacks of 9/11. The first real act of Habeas Corpus comes from the passage of the Habeas Corpus Act of 1867 through 1915. At that time the court denied Leo Frank this right during a murder trial. Some other interesting evolutions of this act throughout history are Lincoln 's Suspension of the Writ of Habeas Corpus this was a historical moment for this right of the constitution. “Lincoln 's power to suspend the writ of habeas corpus was extensively explored during the Civil War, but since then his suspensions have escaped detailed scrutiny despite the controversy they provoked, their widespread and effective use to combat malignant opposition to the war, and their uncertain grounding in the Constitution.” Under the Constitution the federal government can unquestionably suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus if the public safety requires it during times of rebellion or invasion. The issue is whether Congress or the president holds this power. I think this is why during the 9/11 attacks President Bush felt he could detain all those people because of this right. President Bush made a statement that the detainees were "enemy combatants" or "illegal combatants." He also along with the Pentagon stated that these people were a threat to national security. I am sure most of this was done because of the severity of the 9/11 attacks and the fact that nothing like this has ever happen on US soil in history. In
Scott Smith
POL 201
John Zurovchak
4/8/13
The Right of Habeas Corpus is derived from the Latin meaning “you have the body. The meaning according to the U.S. Constitution is the right of any person to question their incarceration before a judge. The violating of this right has not been the most severe of the civil liberties granted to not only Americans but many other countries. The biggest violation of this right was when the Busch administration held hundreds of suspected terrorist from the Afghan and Iraqi terror attacks of 9/11. The first real act of Habeas Corpus comes from the passage of the Habeas Corpus Act of 1867 through 1915. At that time the court denied Leo Frank this right during a murder trial. Some other interesting evolutions of this act throughout history are Lincoln 's Suspension of the Writ of Habeas Corpus this was a historical moment for this right of the constitution. “Lincoln 's power to suspend the writ of habeas corpus was extensively explored during the Civil War, but since then his suspensions have escaped detailed scrutiny despite the controversy they provoked, their widespread and effective use to combat malignant opposition to the war, and their uncertain grounding in the Constitution.” Under the Constitution the federal government can unquestionably suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus if the public safety requires it during times of rebellion or invasion. The issue is whether Congress or the president holds this power. I think this is why during the 9/11 attacks President Bush felt he could detain all those people because of this right. President Bush made a statement that the detainees were "enemy combatants" or "illegal combatants." He also along with the Pentagon stated that these people were a threat to national security. I am sure most of this was done because of the severity of the 9/11 attacks and the fact that nothing like this has ever happen on US soil in history. In
References: http://www.sunypress.edu/pdf/61241.pdf http://quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jala/2629860.0029.205?rgn=main;view=fulltext http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/58279.pdf http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/supreme_court_rules_guantanamo_detainees_have_habeas_rights/ .