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Supremes Will Hear Gitmo Cases

Inmates seek right to challenge confinement in federal court

By M. Morris,  Newser Staff

Posted Jun 29, 2007 10:25 AM CDT
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(Newser) – Two Guantanamo Bay detainees will have their say before the Supreme Court, which today unexpectedly agreed to hear their cases in the term that begins this fall. The prisoners want permission to challenge their indefinite confinement in federal court. The high court had rejected an identical appeal in April, and the reversal is the first such action in decades, Reuters reports.

A 2006 law prevents federal courts from considering habeas corpus petitions from prisoners at the naval base. The decision to reconsider is a blow to the Bush administration, which urged the court to throw out the detainees' petitions. Three justices dissented from the April decision; today's announcement was made without comment less than a day after the 2006-07 term ended.

In this 2006 file photo, reviewed by a US Department of Defense official, detainees stand together at a fence at Camp Delta prison, at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base, Cuba. The Bush administration is nearing a decision to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility and move the terror...
In this 2006 file photo, reviewed by a US Department of Defense official, detainees stand together at a fence at Camp Delta prison, at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base, Cuba. The Bush administration...   (Associated Press)
In this Dec. 5, 2006 file photo, reviewed by a U.S. Dept of Defense official, a detainee sits inside a fenced area at Camp 5 maximum security detention prison, Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base, Cuba. The Bush administration is nearing a decision to close the Guantanamo Bay detention...
In this Dec. 5, 2006 file photo, reviewed by a U.S. Dept of Defense official, a detainee sits inside a fenced area at Camp 5 maximum security detention prison, Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base, Cuba. The...   (Associated Press)
US NEWS GUANTANAMO 2 MI
US NEWS GUANTANAMO 2 MI   (KRT Photos)
US troopers walk on a road as the sun rises over the razor-wired detention compound at Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base, Cuba, in this Dec. 7, 2006 file photo, reviewed by a U.S. Dept of Defense official. The Bush administration is nearing a decision to close the Guantanamo...
US troopers walk on a road as the sun rises over the razor-wired detention compound at Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base, Cuba, in this Dec. 7, 2006 file photo, reviewed by a U.S. Dept of Defense official....   (Associated Press)
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Related links

A comprehensive look at the background of the case
Bloomberg

The White House disagrees with the decision
Associated Press

 
Bush administration • White House • Guantanamo Bay • detainee • habeas corpus • US Supreme Court

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