2008 Woodie Awards
Habeas What-us?
Feature Editorial
Amanda Krupman
Issue date: 10/16/06 Section: Opinions
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Habeas Corpus: "The Great Writ." What about it? Well, in case you were distracted by a sex scandal or nukes and missed the news, Congress just kinda, well, trashed it.
Latin, as we're told, is a dead language. Though about 60 percent of English derives from Latin roots, formal instruction in the classical language has, like Greek, become less than compulsory in the United States. And good riddance. I mean, I don't know about you, but I'm not going to be vacationing at the Vatican anytime soon. In recent weeks, however, the House and Senate decided to take that trend one step further and killed off a little pesky Latin that haunted our U.S. Constitution.
Habeas corpus. It literally means "Thou shalt have the body." The term refers to a writ issued by a court (so don't use 'Habeas Corpus-ing' as a pick-up line), and is one of the cornerstones of American civil liberties, dating back to the time of the Magna Carta. It was a protection considered so instrumental to democratic philosophy that Jefferson wrote it into the first draft of the Constitution, saying "The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it." It protects any person who is being held by a government agency to request a court hearing so as to challenge their detainment.
The restriction comes with the Military Commissions Act of 2006, which addresses the treatment of detainees held at Guantanamo Bay and the CIA's interrogation program. The United States has weathered worldwide criticism of its Naval base, nicknamed 'Gitmo,' with human rights organizations like Amnesty International, labeling it a "human rights scandal" and a "legal black hole." Though the Supreme Court has offered two rulings in the last two years that find executive orders for Gitmo detainees in violation of U.S. law and the Geneva Conventions, Congress approved another bill on Sept. 29 that suspends habeas corpus for detainees. The bill, among other things, expands the definition of enemy combatant to include those who have "purposefully and materially supported hostilities"-vague enough language to warrant concern-and effectively guts out a detainee's right to demand formal charges.
- Page 1 of 2 next >
Latin, as we're told, is a dead language. Though about 60 percent of English derives from Latin roots, formal instruction in the classical language has, like Greek, become less than compulsory in the United States. And good riddance. I mean, I don't know about you, but I'm not going to be vacationing at the Vatican anytime soon. In recent weeks, however, the House and Senate decided to take that trend one step further and killed off a little pesky Latin that haunted our U.S. Constitution.
Habeas corpus. It literally means "Thou shalt have the body." The term refers to a writ issued by a court (so don't use 'Habeas Corpus-ing' as a pick-up line), and is one of the cornerstones of American civil liberties, dating back to the time of the Magna Carta. It was a protection considered so instrumental to democratic philosophy that Jefferson wrote it into the first draft of the Constitution, saying "The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it." It protects any person who is being held by a government agency to request a court hearing so as to challenge their detainment.
The restriction comes with the Military Commissions Act of 2006, which addresses the treatment of detainees held at Guantanamo Bay and the CIA's interrogation program. The United States has weathered worldwide criticism of its Naval base, nicknamed 'Gitmo,' with human rights organizations like Amnesty International, labeling it a "human rights scandal" and a "legal black hole." Though the Supreme Court has offered two rulings in the last two years that find executive orders for Gitmo detainees in violation of U.S. law and the Geneva Conventions, Congress approved another bill on Sept. 29 that suspends habeas corpus for detainees. The bill, among other things, expands the definition of enemy combatant to include those who have "purposefully and materially supported hostilities"-vague enough language to warrant concern-and effectively guts out a detainee's right to demand formal charges.
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