[FYI] (Fwd) FC: President Bush says military tribunals will try civilian cases

["Axel H Horns" <horns@ipjur.com>]

------- Forwarded message follows -------
Date sent:      	Wed, 14 Nov 2001 09:47:22 -0500
To:             	politech@politechbot.com
From:           	Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com>
Subject:        	FC: President Bush says military tribunals will try civilian cases
Send reply to:  	declan@well.com

President Bush has quietly signed an executive order allowing
civilians to be tried by military tribunals. This may be outrageous.

I say "may be" because the degree to which we should be outraged
depends on the details of this not-yet-released executive order. Does
the executive order apply only to non-U.S. citizens, as some news
reports say? Perhaps it applies only abroad, to Al Qaeda saboteurs
trying to blow up U.S. military bases? Does it apply solely to illegal
immigrants? If it applies to people living in or visiting the U.S.
legally, what happened to our Sixth Amendment right "to a speedy and
public trial, by an impartial jury?"

One thing that seems apparent is that the writ of Habeas Corpus, the
so-called Great Writ and bulwark of liberty, is in danger of
disappearing. The Constitution says "the privilege of the writ of
Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of
rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it." During the
Civil War, President Lincoln suspended the writ of Habeas Corpus and
ordered that suspected political criminals be tried before military
tribunals.

Alas, and predictably, you won't see anything on the White House
website. The staff there managed to place online an executive order
creating a "task force on citizen prepardness"
(http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/11/20011109-15.html) --
but somehow neglected to do the same with news that's just a tad more
important.

-Declan

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/14/national/14DETA.html
WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 — President Bush signed an order today allowing
special military tribunals to try foreigners charged with terrorism. A
senior administration official said that any such trials would "not
necessarily" be public and that the American tribunals might operate
in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

See also:

http://www.cnn.com/2001/US/11/13/inv.military.trials/index.html
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/archives/2001/nov/13/1113025
54.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23716-2001Nov13.html




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