BRIEF: Supreme Court to Reevaluate Status Detainees and Military Commissions Act

WASHINGTON, United States – Due to the fact that the Supreme Court has yet to definitively determine what the constitutional status of Guantanamo detainees is, the Boumediene case, which the justices will hear next Wednesday, will require them to make a judgment concerning Congress’ Military Commissions Act (MCA). 

The MCA effectively denies habeas corpus rights to individuals suspected of being affiliated with al Qaida.  Therefore, those held in the Guantanamo military prison have been unable to challenge their detainment in US federal courts.

Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was determined to be within the jurisdiction of the United States in the 2004 Rasul decision.  It remains to be seen whether detainees will then receive the habeas protections ordinarily provided to those imprisoned and charged with crimes within the United States.

For more information, please see:

MSNBC – Justices to Take New Look at Guantanamo Dispute – 29 November 2007