June, 11 2012, 02:48pm EDT
Leading Gitmo Attorneys Denounce Supreme Court's Refusal to Hear Cases
Center for Constitutional Rights Raises Alarm about Court’s Denial of Cert.
NEW YORK
Today, in response to the U.S. Supreme Court's denial of certiorari to the cases of seven Guantanamo detainees who had petitioned the Court for review of decisions by the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) Executive Director Vincent Warren issued the following statement:
The Center for Constitutional Rights is extremely disappointed in the Supreme Court's denial of certiorari in the latest set of habeas cases brought by Guantanamo detainees. By refusing to hear these cases, and any Guantanamo cases since its 2008 Boumediene decision, the Court abandons the promise of its own ruling guaranteeing detainees a constitutional right to meaningful review of the legality of their detention. Today's decision leaves the fate of detainees in the hands of a hostile D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, which has erected innumerable, unjustified legal obstacles that have made it practically impossible for a detainee to win a habeas case in the trial courts. The D.C. Circuit, the country's most conservative court of appeals, has reversed every detainee victory appealed to it by the government, and as consequence, district courts in D.C. have ruled in favor of detainees in only one of the last 12 cases before them.
For nearly 10 years, the Supreme Court's involvement has been essential in checking the excesses of Executive-Branch detainee policy and in clearing a path in the lower courts for justice for the detainees. The Court's refusal to get involved at this critical juncture permits the Court of Appeals to continue to rubber stamp the military's decision-making, undermining our constitutional system of separation of powers.
In light of the failure of the courts to carry out their constitutionally-assigned role, CCR calls on the President to fulfill his promise to close Guantanamo, the most infamous prison in the world. He should begin by releasing the 87 men who military, intelligence and law enforcement agencies have unanimously concluded should be released on the grounds that they pose no danger to the United States.
The Center for Constitutional Rights is dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. CCR is committed to the creative use of law as a positive force for social change.
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Privacy Defenders Decry 'Spy Draft' in Section 702 Renewal Advanced by Senate
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Apr 18, 2024
Civil liberties defenders on Thursday decried the U.S. Senate's advancement of the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act, which critics say lawmakers are trying to ram through without protection against warrantless surveillance and with a provision that would effectively make every American a spy whether they like it or not.
Senators voted 67-32 in favor of a cloture motion to begin voting on RISAA, a bill to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which expires on Friday. FISA—a highly controversial law that has been abused hundreds of thousands of times—allows warrantless surveillance of non-U.S. citizens but also often sweeps up Americans' communication data in the process.
In a 273-147 vote last week, House lawmakers passed RISAA, including an amendment critics say dramatically expands the government's unchecked surveillance authority by compelling a wide range of individuals and organizations—including businesses and the media—to cooperate in government spying operations.
This so-called "Make Everyone a Spy" clause would allow the attorney general or director of national intelligence to force electronic communication service providers to "immediately provide... all information, facilities, or assistance" the government deems necessary.
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Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.)—who
said earlier this week that the bill would dragoon the American people into becoming "an agent for Big Brother"—on Thursday argued that "this issue demands a debate about meaningful reforms, not a rushed vote to rubber-stamp more warrantless government surveillance powers."
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Columbia President Minouche Shafik informed the campus community on Thursday that she had authorized the police to clear the encampment.
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