Jonathan Adams

Supreme Court Allows Guantanamo Bay Prisoners to Appeal Detention

By a 5-4 vote, the high court overturned a ruling that upheld a law President George W. Bush pushed through the Republican-led Congress in 2006 that took away the habeas corpus rights of the terrorism suspects to seek full judicial review of their detention.

“We hold these petitioners do have the habeas corpus privilege,” Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the court majority in the 70-page opinion, portions of which he read from the bench.

Now, top D.C. judges are meeting to discuss how to handle the challenges presented by the Supreme Court’s ruling.

The ruling handed down Thursday resurrects several detainee lawsuits that federal judges have put on hold over the past 18 months.

Judges, law clerks and court administrators are scrambling to read the 70-page opinion and figure out how to proceed.

Chief Judge Royce C. Lamberth says he will call a special meeting of federal judges in Washington to address what could be a massive influx of sensitive, high-stakes cases.

Posted at 10:26 AM, Jun 12, 2008 in Detention | Permalink | View Comments