Supreme Court to Define Habeas Corpus Rights of Guantanamo Bay Detainees

Since the commencement of the Bush administration's war on terror and the holding of enemy combatants, approximately seven hundred and seventy-five detainees were placed in the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp beginning in 2002. The controversy, media speculation, and international scandal involving the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp recently embarked upon a new question of the treatment of these detainees. This question called for the American government to define habeas corpus rights that these individual detainees may or may not be entitled. However, doing so is not as simple as it may appear. The Geneva Conventions categorize captured enemies as either a prisoner of war or an unlawful combatant. In the event a person is labeled a prisoner of war, a military tribunal and trial will convene to decide the fate of these individuals. On the contrary according to the fourth Geneva Convention, a captured enemy combatant, one not deemed a prisoner of war, is subject to the courts and rulings of the capturing country's judicial system. In the case of those held at the Guantanamo Bay, the Bush administration has declined to declare an official status of these enemies, and in affect, has left the status of all these prisoners in limbo for nearly six years.

Do you feel your loved one is being indefinitely detained by law enforcement without cause or charge? Contact a criminal defense lawyer today to restore and define habeas corpus rights of your loved one!

Some actions writs of habeas corpus seek from courts include:

• Demands to determine the lawful authority of those detaining a person
• Demands to relate the reasons behind the detainment
• Demands to bring a person to trial as evidence witness

The recent Supreme Court case Boumediene v. Bush, in combination with the Al Odah v. Bush case, was allotted one-hour oral argument hearings for each side on December 5, 2007. These cases ostensibly attempt to define habeas corpus rights and the ability of defendants to contest their detainment in the United States civilian courts. In the heart of the case, the status of the prisoners must be defined in order to achieve the ruling on whether the detainees are unlawful or civilian combatants, and thus entitled the right to habeas corpus laws in the United States civilian courts. The converse of these detainee status ruling may label the detainees the status of prisoners of war, and in this event, these Guantanamo Bay detainment camp prisoners are subject to a military tribunal. Following the judicial determination, which the Supreme Court has yet to issue, will abolish the Bush administration's all out efforts to afford these detainees no legal status or rights. The contentions of the Bush administration thus far have been varied and evolving, however, several goals are evident. One is for the unimpeded detainment of these prisoners even in light of the Geneva Conventions, international scrutiny, the United States court system, and public opinion of the American people.

Do you feel your loved one is being indefinitely detained by law enforcement without cause or charge? Contact a criminal defense lawyer today to restore and define habeas corpus rights of your loved one!

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