speaking as a lawyer, Gonzalez was correct.

there is no "express grant of habeas corpus" in the Constitution.

habeas corpus is a common law right. the Constitution assumes its existence...but it doesn't expressly grant. I realize the (non-legal) blogs are up in arms...but they're wrong.

Posted by: Nathan at January 19, 2007 12:39 PM

Nom,

What Gonzales said is, "the Constitution doesn't say that every individual in the United States or every citizen has or is assured the right of habeas corpus."

That's a little bit different from saying it doesn't apply to enemy aliens held outside the United States.

This is an important issue. Please do try to keep up.

Posted by: Phila at January 19, 2007 12:25 PM

Glad to see the DEA is spending time cracking down on guys distributing a product that is both useful and mostly harmless (much more so than drinking or smoking), is the US biggest cash crop and sends people that are otherwise stand up, law abiding citizens to jail. Just what I was hoping the govt. was spending my hard earned tax dollars on. More than 75% of all drug users are employeed, the vast majority of them are Pot users. They pay taxes, raise families and in general help our sociaty. I hate the war on drugs more than anything our govt. has done in my lifetime, my father and grandfathers lifetimes.

Lets go back to a country where personal liberty is more important than anything else. Only when what someone does impairs others personal liberties should we even think about regulating it.

Lets help our national dept and stop the war on drugs.

Posted by: The Cenobyte at January 19, 2007 12:00 PM

Gonzales is right - the Constitution does not provide a constitutional right of habeas corpus to enemy aliens held outside the US - early Supreme Court caselaw held that, and no recent cases have disputed that. The Supreme Court's recent ruling in Hamdan (or was it Hamdi?) only held that Congress by statute had given enemny aliens more habeas rights than they were granted by the Constitution itself (which are zero). The Suspension Clause in the Constitution only says that habeas corpus (once granted) can not be suspended without invasion or rebellion (regardless, of course, 9/11 was an invasion of the territorial United States). Other Supreme Court cases have held that substitute proceedings can replace habeas corpus, making its elimination not actually "suspended" (like the combatant review tribunals, followed by appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, as provided in the act passed last year making clear that enemy aliens did not have a right to habeas corpus.). No enemy aliens captured in WWII were permitted to file writs of habeas corpus.

Posted by: Nom at January 19, 2007 11:50 AM