NEW YORK - March 28 - The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), the organization that brought Rasul v. Bush to the Supreme Court, declared its support for the petitioner in the case Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, to be heard by the Court today. Hamdan is the first case to reach the Court since its decision in Rasul v. Bush in June 2004.

Mr. Hamdan is a detainee designated by President Bush to be tried before a military commission in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. His lawsuit challenges the President's authority to establish military commissions in the absence of specific congressional action as well as the military's authority to try him under procedures and rules which violate the Constitution, U.S. military law, and the Geneva Conventions.

CCR Legal Director Bill Goodman explained what was at stake in the Hamdan case, "The Bush Administration is trying to circumvent the American judicial system and the Geneva Conventions by setting up military commissions that look nothing like a true court of law."

CCR appeared on two amicus briefs in support of Mr. Hamdan's case before the Supreme Court. One of these briefs, filed jointly with the pro bono attorneys representing the nearly 500 detainees at Guantánamo, challenges the legality of the Detainee Treatment Act. The other brief, filed with Human Rights First and FIDH, makes the case that the principles embodied in the Geneva Conventions are enforceable in the U.S.

"Since CCR won Rasul v. Bush, the Bush Administration has done everything in its power to avoid honoring the Court's decision. This case is a test of whether the Supreme Court is going to stand up and reign in a renegade executive, shift the balance of powers in our government, and most importantly, uphold the human rights of the people in Guantánamo" said CCR Deputy Legal Director, Barbara Olshansky.

About CCR

The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) is a non-profit legal and educational organization dedicated to protecting and advancing the rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Founded in 1966 by attorneys who represented civil rights demonstrators in the South, CCR is committed to the creative use of law as a positive force for social change. www.ccr-ny.org

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