Habeas corpus restoration moves forward in Congress

New American, The, July 9, 2007

On June 7, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved the Habeas Corpus Restoration Act, which would reinstate the right of habeas corpus--the protection against arbitrary and indefinite imprisonment. The new legislation was made necessary in 2006 when Congress severely limited and, according to some, actually revoked the right of habeas corpus--even for American citizens--when it passed the Military Commissions Act.

If passed by both the Senate and the House and signed into law, the Habeas Corpus Restoration Act would allow detainees and enemy combatants at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to challenge their imprisonment in federal courts. More importantly, it would undo the dangerous possibility that, under the Military Commissions Act, American citizens might find themselves imprisoned without charge and without access to the courts.

The measure received enthusiastic support from Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold, who explained its importance. "Habeas corpus," Feingold pointed out, "is a fundamental recognition that in America, the government does not have the power to detain people indefinitely and arbitrarily. And that in America, the courts must have the power to review the legality of executive detention decisions. As a group of retired judges wrote to Congress last year, habeas corpus 'safeguards the most hallowed judicial role in our constitutional democracy--ensuring that no man is imprisoned unlawfully.'"