Constitution Project
The Constitution Project is a politically independent think tank established in 1997 to promote and defend constitutional safeguards. More information about the Constitution Project is available at http://constitutionproject.org/.
Releases by this organization
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Newswire article Thursday, May 07, 2009 Constitution Project Files Brief Urging Supreme Court to Hear Uighur Detention Case Today, the Constitution Project, along with other non-governmental organizations, filed a friend of the court brief in the U.S. Supreme Court urging the Court to accept review of a case in which 17 Chinese Muslims, known as Uighurs, seek release from Guantanamo now that they have been recognized not to be enemy combatants. The brief urges the Court to take the case, Kiyemba v. Obama, and reverse the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia that the courts lack the authority to order the release of the Uighurs. Read more |
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Newswire article Thursday, April 30, 2009 Secretary Gates Hints at Establishing Indefinite Detention on U.S. Soil While testifying before the Senate Appropriations Committee today, Defense Secretary Robert Gates suggested that the Defense Department may be planning to construct a detention facility on U.S. soil as part of a new system of indefinite preventive detention for Guantanamo detainees who are not transferred to other countries, nor provided with criminal trials in federal court. He suggested that as many as 100 Guantanamo detainees might then be held indefinitely in such a facility without ever facing trial. Read more |
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Newswire article Tuesday, April 28, 2009 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Rejects Overbroad State Secrets Claim by Federal Government The Constitution Project welcomes today's decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejecting the Executive Branch's claim that the "very subject matter" of a case alleging torture is a state secret. The Court reversed the district court's dismissal of the lawsuit, and held that the case, Mohamed v. Jeppesen Dataplan, can proceed. The court held that the state secrets privilege is an evidentiary doctrine, and the question for courts "is only which evidence is secret and may not be disclosed in the course of a public trial." Read more |
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Newswire article Wednesday, April 22, 2009 Senate Report Furthers the Need for Nonpartisan Commission of Inquiry The Senate Armed Services Committee released its much-anticipated and newly-declassified report late yesterday on the treatment of detainees while in U.S. custody. The 232 page report--the result of an 18 month investigation by the Committee--shows that harsh interrogation methods used on detainees were authorized at the highest levels of the Bush White House. This follows last Thursday's release of four Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) memos that provided the legal rationale justifying the interrogation methods. Read more |
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Newswire article Tuesday, March 17, 2009 Preventive Detention and Prosecution in the Post-Guantanamo Era WHAT: The Constitution Project will co-host a panel of experts with a broad spectrum of views who will discuss the legal and constitutional issues raised by President Obama's executive orders on detention and terrorism prosecutions, including potential proposals for establishing a national security court and a preventive detention regime. Read more |
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Newswire article Friday, March 13, 2009 Administration Decision on 'Enemy Combatant' Definition Expected Today Today, the Obama administration is expected to file its response to a federal judge's order to define whom it may hold as an "enemy combatant." U.S. District Judge John Bates is overseeing habeas lawsuits filed by Guantanamo detainees challenging their detention. Read more |
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Newswire article Monday, March 09, 2009 A Discussion of National Security Courts, Preventive Detention, and President Obama's Executive Orders Read more |
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Newswire article Friday, March 06, 2009 Constitution Project Hails Supreme Court Order to Vacate Lower Court Enemy Combatant Ruling Today, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to vacate (i.e., "void") its ruling permitting the President to indefinitely detain individuals living legally in the U.S. that the government asserts are terrorists. In recent days, the Obama administration charged Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri with conspiracy and material support for terrorism and indicated its plan to prosecute him in a civilian criminal court. Read more |
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Newswire article Tuesday, March 03, 2009 Military Experts and Scholars Call for Presidential Commission on Post 9/11 Detention Policy A day before the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold hearings on whether to investigate post-9/11 detention policies, a group of leading scholars, human rights specialists, and retired military officers has issued a statement calling on President Obama to create a commission of inquiry to investigate those matters. Read more |
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Newswire article Friday, February 27, 2009 Constitution Project Applauds Administration Decision to Criminally Prosecute Al-Marri The Obama administration has charged Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri with conspiracy and material support for terrorism and plans to prosecute him in a civilian criminal court. President Bush declared Mr. Marri an "enemy combatant" in 2003 and the government has held him in a military brig without charge since then. The Constitution Project applauds the Obama administration's decision to conduct a criminal prosecution and give Mr. Marri his day in court. Read more |