Posted on 07/15/2005 10:55:54 AM PDT by neverdem
WASHINGTON, July 15 - In a significant victory for the Bush administration's antiterrorism policy, a federal appeals court ruled today that military commissions could resume war crimes trials of detainees at the American naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
A three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled unanimously for the administration and against Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a former driver for Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan, who is facing terrorism charges.
The panel emphatically overturned a decision on Nov. 8 by a federal district judge in Washington, James Robertson, who had ruled that in setting up military commissions to try the detainees President Bush overstepped his constitutional authority and improperly brushed aside Geneva Convention provisions on the handling prisoners of war.
"The president found that Hamdan was not a prisoner of war under the Convention," Judge A. Raymond Randolph wrote for the panel in today's ruling. "Nothing in the regulations, and nothing Hamdan argues, suggests that the president is not a 'competent authority' for these purposes."
Lawyers for Mr. Hamdan, a Yemeni in his mid-30's who has denied he is a terrorist, can now appeal to the full Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, or they can seek to appeal directly to the United States Supreme Court. But for the moment, the Bush's administration's policies and approach have been validated.
Judge Robertson had held that the commissions could not go on because they did not provide minimally fair procedures and violated international law. His conclusion threw into doubt the legal proceedings devised by the administration to deal with hundreds of suspected terrorists captured by the United States in Afghanistan during the military campaign that toppled the Taliban following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
President Bush has declared all...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
What will the SCOTUS say??? Probably reverse the reversal, the liberal trend will continue. UGH!
A victory for Americans...not just the Bush Administration.
ping
Congressman Billybob
Congressman Billybob
I don't think the U.S. Supremes will reverse...with any luck maybe we can prevent cert from being granted...and if they take it, it might split 5-4, but for once, I don't think Justice Kennedy will do the wrong thing. I don't think he likes the idea of being blown up...Ginzburg, Souter, Breyer, and Stevens of course could care less.
WhooooHoooo!!! This is a great victory .. and proves once again why you need judges who will not try to legislate from the bench .. but will interpret what is already guaranteed by the Constitution.
Thanks for the link.
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