Senators Leahy and Dodd reintroduce Habeas Corpus Restoration Act
September 18, 2007 by Dusty
From Leahy’s government website, an excerpt of his remarks:
Last year, Congress committed an historic mistake by suspending the Great Writ of habeas corpus — not just for those confined at Guantanamo Bay but for millions of legal residents in the United States. The Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing in May on this bill illustrated the broad agreement among representatives from diverse political beliefs and backgrounds that the mistake committed in the Military Commissions Act of 2006 must be corrected. The Habeas Corpus Restoration Act of 2007, S.186, the bill on which this amendment is based, has 30 cosponsors. The Senate Judiciary Committee reported it on a bipartisan basis. I hope Senators will review the Committee report on this measure.
Habeas corpus was recklessly undermined in last year’s Military Commissions Act. Like the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, the elimination of habeas rights was an action driven by fear, and it was a stain on America’s reputation in the world. This is a time of testing. Future generations will look back to examine the choices we made during a time when security was too often invoked as a watchword to convince us to slacken our defense of liberty and the rule of law.
Congress must come together to restore Habeas Corpus. The NYT has an editorial on the subject here, entitled “Restoring American Justice”. A short blurb after the jump:
In 2006, acting in reckless haste before an election, 65 senators and 250 members of the House defied the Constitution, endangered the safety of American soldiers and hurt the nation’s global reputation by passing the Military Commissions Act. The law created a separate, substandard and clearly unconstitutional system of trial and punishment for foreigners. This week Congress has a chance to begin fixing that grievous mistake.
The Senate is expected to consider a measure that would reverse one of the worst aspects of the 2006 law — the suspension of the right of habeas corpus, the ancient principle that no governing power may lock people up without the chance for a hearing in a court of law.
We must keep this in the forefront of the minds of the American Public and our elected officials. In order for that to occur, we have to write about it, call our elected officials and tell them to support it. There is no time to waste on this. This is not a partisan issue folks..no matter how the 30%’ers try to paint it as one. Habeas Corpus has been around since the Magna Carta for the love of pete..we need to make sure Congress stays on track and passes this amendment.
But as Dwight Eisenhower once said: If all Americans want is security, they can go to prison. They’ll have enough to eat, a bed and a roof over their heads.
Tags: Habeas Corpus, Leahy, Dodd,
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it’s about fucking time. i remember they pulled this stunt; seems like the news was revealed about 6:00 on a friday evening, then some scandal hit the news and that was that.
i just talked to a brilliant man yesterday who told me that i am crazy for expressing a greater fear of what bush and cheney and our government has done to us than what the terrorists might. he holds his views as strongly as i hold mine. i wonder if all of us frightened people ~ those who are terrified of our unbridled government and those who are terrified of the muslim extremists ~ will ever be reconciled?
this bill must get wide support. it must. i will call my two asswipe senators, hard core right wing nutbags, and see what they have to say about it. what do you want to bet they’ll be opposed? just as these alleged fiscal conservatives were opposed to the bill to allow medicare to bargain for the drug benefit provided in Part D.
boy, can’t start on one topic without extending tentacles of disgust to every other thing happening in our world today. our government is rotten to the core and i believe we can reclaim it, but we have to start now. this is a good place to start. kudos to leahy and dodd.
Restore Habeas Corpus/a> Whip Count
Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT)
Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE)
Sen. John Warner (R-VA)
Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE)
Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN)
Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID)
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)
Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME)
Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN)
Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH)
Sen. John Sununu (R-NH)
Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA)
Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR)
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN)
Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN)
Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)
Sen. Ken Salazar (D-CO)
Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR)
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
All of the above have been designated as on the fence, potentially wobbly, or not taking a position as yet, and need an extra nudge, please. Thanks again for all the effort, gang.
UPDATE: The whip count tool is operational — you can take a peek here. Thanks to Sens. Dodd and Leahy for putting this together.
This bill has got to pass, GOT TO. Oh i am calling you betcha..on the fence, about this ? If they are on the fence they have no business being in the senate. NONE as they have NO understanding of our Constitution and rule of law. Ike was adament H.C. a true Believer and well he should have been. I just saw Good Night and Good Luck last night..better late then never. Mcarthyism, terrorism its all the same stuff, different decade.
And it all boils down to this. Without it, (HC) we are not..and never will be again. That place once known as america.
Damn them not only did this bill fail,but so did the Webb amendment. Sell our constitution some more you political fuckwits. goddess i am so angry, that 60 vote rule could be changed. This is so beyond parties..this is about the Constitution - the entire Congress , needs remedial work on the basics. dammit dammit dammit.
Yep, once again it fucking failed..and Bush had already said he would veto it..so why the hell didn’t they all rent a set of nads and vote for it anyway?
It would at least show solidarity.