Supreme Court Takes on Executive Power
The Supreme Court has decided to take on George Bush’s assertion that he can detain individuals indefinitely. This has the potential to be a landmark ruling. I need to mull this over a bit and avoid knee-jerk comments. That withstanding, at first glance, I want to say this smacks more of political maneuvering on the Court’s part, especially considering the timing, than it does with the execution of justice or the Rule of Law.
Via the NYT:
The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to decide the most fundamental question yet concerning executive power in the age of terror: Can the president order the indefinite military detention of people living in the United States?
The case concerns Ali al-Marri, the only person on the American mainland being held as an enemy combatant, at the Navy brig in Charleston, S.C. Mr. Marri, a citizen of Qatar, was legally in the United States when he was arrested in December 2001 in Peoria, Ill., where he was living with his family and studying computer science at Bradley University.
Eighteen months later, when Mr. Marri was on the verge of a trial on credit card fraud and other charges, President Bush declared him an enemy combatant, moving him from the custody of the Justice Department to military detention. The government says Mr. Marri is a Qaeda sleeper agent sent to the United States to commit mass murder and disrupt the banking system.
The case, which will probably be argued in the spring, will present the Obama administration with several difficult strategic choices. It can continue to defend the Bush administration’s expansive interpretation of executive power, advance a more modest one or short-circuit the case by moving it to the criminal justice system. [emphasis added]
