I don't see this amidst all of the Foley action in the recent diaries list, but the
AP is reporting that the
Center for Constitutional Rights is going to stand up for habeas by filing a pre-emptive petition for 25 detainees before Bush signs the atrocity into law.
This was in the Yahoo headlines for about a minute and then gone, so give the story a ratings boost.
Attorneys for 25 men being held in Afghanistan launched a pre-emptive strike Monday against President Bush's plan to prosecute and interrogate terror suspects.
Court documents filed Monday demand that the men be released or charged and allowed to meet with attorneys. Such a filing, known as a habeas corpus petition, is prohibited under the legislation approved by Congress last week.
The AP writer does contrast the detainee bill with the legal rights civilians have come to expect, explained in a fairly straightforward fashion:
In civilian courts, the government is required to tell people why they are being held and allow them access to attorneys. People accused of crimes are then afforded speedy trials before juries of their peers.
...
The new law protects detainees from blatant abuses such as torture but does not require that they be granted legal counsel. It also allows prosecutors to use evidence, such as hearsay, that wouldn't be allowed in civilian courts.
However, it's a fairly thin article and the CCR does not yet have a news release on its site. I'll add to this if new information comes out.