02 May 2007

C.J. Roberts Cements Goverment Gitmo Win

Chief Justice Roberts of the United States Supreme Court appears to agree with the government that the Military Commissions Act of 2006 absolutely forbids any judicial branch intervention in the government's treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay. This is contrary to signals that have been sent by associate justices Stevens and Kennedy in cases where they have denied certiorari, but held open the possibility of court review in some cases.

Most recently the Chief Justice refused to consider a detainee's plea that upon release from Guantanamo Bay, he was being transferred to a country, Libya, where he claims "he faces a grave risk of arbitrary detention, torture, persecution and extrajudicial assassination at the hands of the dictatorship of Colonel Muammar Al-Qadhafi." The Executive branch argued that it should be trusted with resolving this issue, despite the fact that in all other contexts, Executive branch asylum decisions are subject to judicial review, ultimately, by the judicial branch.

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