Ashford University
Tim Howard
POL 201
8/16/2014
Habeas Corpus and the War on TerrorIn order to fully understand the rights and liberties during wartime situations, there must be some background information that needs to be expressed and explained. In this essay I will explain the definition of habeas corpus and the role of the Judicial, Legislative and Executive Branches of government during wartime and conflicts, and how the President will sometimes take the matter into his own hands. I will also provide information about examples of the suspension of habeas corpus in history.
The habeas corpus concept was first articulated in the Magna Carta, a constitutional deed enforced on King John …show more content…
Most of this process has focused on Guantanamo, producing three Supreme Court decisions. “The most recent, and important, Boumediene v. Bush, rejected the government’s argument that simply because a detainee is a non-citizen and is held outside the United States, he is necessarily outside the Constitution. In holding that Guantanamo detainees have a right to access U.S. courts under the habeas corpus Suspension Clause, the Court invalidated legislation by Congress seeking to deprive them of that right and deny them a fair hearing to challenge their continued imprisonment.” (Hafetz,2011). Even terrorists and combatants are given the right to a fair trial. When Congress enacted the Antiterrorism Act in response to perceived abuses of the writ of habeas corpus, it exercised its Exceptions Clause power under Article III to strip the Supreme Court of jurisdiction to hear appeals from lower court denials of second habeas …show more content…
Lincoln did so during the U.S Civil War. On September 14, 2001, Congress sanctioned the president to use all necessary and appropriate force against the persons, organizations, and states responsible for the September 11 attacks. “During a war, prisoners are held not according to guilt or innocence, as in criminal cases, but as a practical matter: if released, they would likely resume the fight, so governments have traditionally detained enemy soldiers without charge until the hostilities end” (Shaw, 2009).
In my own opinion, habeas corpus should be given to the citizens of America. As a terrorist I believe all rights are to be revoked. The only problem with this view is that there could be the possibility of detaining an innocent individual. However, for instances such as September 11th, where the terrorist claims rights to the act like Osama Bin Ladin did, we as the U.S have every right to capture and conquer.
In this paper, I have explained where the Act of Habeas Corpus came from and how it originated along with a few examples of such. I also explained how the president and congress view and use the act during the war on