Did you know you can be held without trial in the US now?

Question

Court: US Can Jail Civilians Indefinitely

A federal appeals court has ruled President Bush can order the indefinite jailing of civilians imprisoned in the United States. The five-to-four decision effectively reverses last year's ruling that the administration cannot label US residents "enemy combatants" and jail them indefinitely without charge. The ruling came in the case of the only person still held as an enemy combatant on US soil. Ali al-Marri was arrested six years ago at his home in Peoria, Illinois, where he lived with his wife and five children. He was initially charged with credit card fraud and lying to federal agents. But in June 2003, President Bush declared him an enemy combatant and ordered him into military custody. He has spent the last four years in solitary confinement at a Navy brig in Charleston, South Carolina. Al-Marri's attorney Jonathan Hafetz said, "This decision means the president can pick up any person in the country—citizen or legal resident—and lock them up for years without the most basic safeguard in the Constitution, the right to a criminal trial

Answer 1

<begins to sing>  GOD BLESS AMERICA, LAND OF THE FREE.........

Answer 2

so your defending a known terrorist? You chose a terrorist to make your case? I feel any one who intends to do harm to Americans in the name of their religion is free game under the anti terrorist act. This is not a lose of freedom, but insuring we can still maintain out freedom

Answer 3

Did you read the al-Marri decision? You are mischaracterizing it. The Court ruled the government could do that *if* it could defend its characterization of him as an enemy combatant. They ruled that he had the legal right to challenge that characterization.

There is actually more good in al-Marri. The Court further held that procedures that were allowed due to "military expediency" could not be justified in cases where there was no such expediency.

As for the "defending a known terrorist" argument, we don't know he's a terrorist. That's the whole point. We know the administration is claiming he's a terrorist, but that's pretty much all we know. I believe al-Marri would like a court to make that decision. He is primarily seeking the right to challenge his designation as an enemy combatant.

Answer 4

How big Georgie got away with this as long as he did amazes me. Guess there were many rich people of one background looking to pickup best  farmland in the world real cheap at start of Pacific front of WW2.

Answer 5

No,

we're losing more rights every day..