Posted on 11/15/2009 5:09:40 PM PST by Congressman Billybob
Some of he facts for this article, and some of the legal conclusions, come from an article on 13 November, 2009, on Frontpage,com by David Horowitz, entitled “The Worst Decision by a US President in History.” The title alone makes clear that Mr. Horowitz sharply opposes President Obama’s decision to have alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammad and his confederates tried in federal court in New York City rather than before a military tribunal.
The ACLU, and its ally, the pro-Castro, Center for Constitutional Rights, have praised Obama’s decision as “presenting American justice to the world.” Since the ACLU is sponsoring the lawyers who are seeking to get the Gitmo prisoners off without a guilty finding by any means possible, this praise may be considered hypocritical.
Mr/ Horowitz’ article has a plethora of hyperlinks to additional information, but since some readers might consider him a biased source, we will take this one small step at a time. Any lawyer who is a member of the bar, and has an admissions certificate on which the ink is dry, would know or be able to look up with a few computer clicks, the following points:
First: the constitutional guarantee of “a speedy trial” applies in ordinary criminal court; it does not apply in a military tribunal, Under existing Supreme Court cases, a delay of five years from the arrest of the defendant to the bringing of charges, is clearly excessive. There is already another trial in which the terrorist/defendant has filed a motion to dismiss all charges on this ground, as soon as he got into a standard criminal court.
If the minor defendant beats the rap on this technicality in the other case, it would probably mean that all charges would be dismissed against Khalid Sheik Mohammad and his cohorts on the same technicality.
Second: In criminal court, but not in a tribunal, the defense can force the government either to reveal the methods of intelligence gathering, or drop the charges. There are already several instances of people charged with espionage, caught red-handed with secret documents, who walked out of court free as a bird, because the government wanted to protect its intelligence efforts in time of war. The same may happen, here.
Third: All the defendants have confessed. But the jury will never hear those confessions, because of how those confessions were obtained. In a military tribunal, those confessions would be admissible.
Worse than that, in the military tribunal at Gitmo, all the defendants announced their intention to plead guilty, in return for the opportunity to make statements about justified jihad in court. Obama stopped that process in its tracks by presidential order.
Fourth: Criminal defendants are entitled to a “jury of their peers.” Anyone want to bet that ACLU-supported lawyers won’t claim that such a jury must include some Muslims on the jury? And if so, what are the odds that at least one juror will hold out for “not guilty,” or at least for “no death penalty” if there is a conviction? Neither of those would apply in a tribunal, where the judge and the jury is a panel of nine US military officers.
Fifth: There is a unanimous Supreme Court decision, Ex Parte Quiirin, from 1942 which held that it was constitutional to try Nazi bombers who entered the US from submarines, before a military tribunal, not a criminal court trial under the constraints of the Bill of Rights. This is a short decision, written in plain English, that even laymen can read and understand. And it has been affirmed in recent years as good law, by the current Supreme Court.
Somewhere in the bowels of the “Justice” Department there is a memo written by career lawyers, reciting all of these points. But the business of Attorney General Holder is to do what the boss commands, no matter of whether that outcome is moral, legal, or constitutional. This is a continuation of Holder’s willingness to serve the boss, displayed for all to see in the Marc Rich pardon whitewash.
All that this decision by Obama demonstrates is that the US can show itself as both cowardly and stupid to its enemies. And that display WILL cause additional deaths of American soldiers, and civilians. The only way this dead wrong and deadly decision by Obama can be stopped is if Congress votes to defund it. Otherwise, this will occur and there is a significant chance that the defendants who have already confessed in detail, will walk free out of a courtroom just blocks from the scene of the mass murder.
Source on the Net:
http://frontpagemag.com/2009/11/13/the-worst-decision-by-a-us-president-in-history-by-david-horowitz/
- 30 - Author’s Note: The author began his career as a trial lawyer in 1970. He practiced in the US Supreme Court for 33 years. He has written extensively on constitutional law. This analysis is based on that experience. John_Armor@aya.yale.edu He is one of the counsel to the American Civil Rights Union. www.theacru.org - 30 -
John / Billybob
It takes ONE idiot on that jury and those terrorists walk. Either its gonna be an acquittal or it will be a hung jury. Just watch, because this is what Obama wants. To put America on trial, to put Bush on trial. Those Code Pink idiots already are siding with Hasan, just takes one moron to be on that jury and those bastards walk
This is getting to be such a horror, that if it had been a movie script, I would have found it lacking credibility.
How can ANYONE justify applying the same rights and rules of courtrooms procedure to the 9/11/01 Jihadists? It’s insane.
Only outraged at the STUPIDITY of our ... COMRADE in Chief!!!
What do you expect from a professed Muslim? What I can’t understand is why we elected him in the first place?
Thanks, CBB. I feared as much.
Do you think Congress will stop this? The American people have said over and over that they do not want terrorists brought into this country.
Maybe we should just throw the lawyers in the same cell with the terrorists they represent and leave the room for an hour or two.
Yeah I also recall your dimissiveness on the BC issue.
They will go for the death penalty and a lot of these if not most of them will walk. They are muslims and he is a muslim.
The fools who voted for this evil have no idea what they have done.
Hussein will always be adored by those whose opinions he cares about.As far as he's concerned everyone else can go to hell (not that he *believes* in hell...or God...or anything like that).I'm convinced that he's perfectly willing to be a one term president if,during that single term,he can accomplish his main goals...destroying the best health care system in the world...destroying the greatest economy in the world (Cap and Crush)...destroying the greatest and most liberating "Army" in human history....and discrediting or imprisoning as many members of the previous Administration as possible.
I gave up a long time ago on the idea that Obama is trying to act in America's interest. From this perpective his actions become quite clear.
Defenestration ~ that’s what the members of the Obama regime as well as any jury on the terrorist trials has to worry about.
He doesn’t care. He takes his orders from Saudi Arabia. People have no idea how bad this is going to get.
He doesn’t care. He takes his orders from Saudi Arabia. People have no idea how bad this is going to get.
Nicolae Ceauşescu was stood in front of a wall for less.
And afterwards, how could we tell the difference?
WE didn't.... A bunch of simpleton boobs did.
**What I can’t understand is why we elected him in the first place?**
WE didn’t ... a bunch of Professional VICTIMS got OFF THEIR A** and voted for ... “ONE OF THEIR OWN!”
YO MediaMatters(morethanfacts).BS ... get the correct individual
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