Posted on 06/28/2002 7:50:21 AM PDT by Dog Gone
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court on Friday blocked a judge from opening immigration hearings for foreign terrorism suspects, granting the Bush administration's emergency request for a stay.
The administration argued that national security would be threatened if reporters and others were allowed to attend the hearings.
The high court, without comment, put on hold a judge's ruling that it is unconstitutional to impose a blanket policy closing all detention or deportation hearings that the government calls special-interest cases.
The intervention was the first by the court in a dispute arising from the government's response to the terror attacks. It preserves the government's effort to secretly detain foreigners swept up in the terrorism investigation.
Civil rights and media organizations are seeking names and other information on an unknown number of foreign nationals held by the Immigration and Naturalization Service since Sept. 11.
U.S. District Judge John Bissell in Newark, N.J., ruled last month that the government could close hearings on a case-by-case basis.
``If these proceedings are opened to the public during the critical phase of the urgent threat to national security, terrorist organizations will have direct access to information about the government's ongoing investigation,'' Bush's top Supreme Court lawyer, Theodore Olson, wrote in a court filing.
The stay will give the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals time to review Bissell's May 29 ruling. The government has asked the court in Philadelphia to overturn the decision.
The appeals court agreed to quickly hear arguments in the case, but refused to stop open hearings in the meantime.
Olson said the hearings could reveal identities of foreign detainees, evidence of their links to terrorism and clues to how much the government knows about wider terrorist operations.
``The harms that would result from disclosure can never be undone,'' Olson told justices.
The government must be allowed to close administrative hearings that have generally been open ``in light of the lessons from experience, as well as extraordinary situations like the present one,'' Olson wrote.
The closed hearings were challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union and the New York-based Center For Constitutional Rights on behalf of the New Jersey Law Journal, a weekly publication, and North Jersey Media Group, publisher of the Herald News of West Paterson, a daily newspaper.
More than 100 foreign nationals picked up after Sept. 11 were still in custody as of late May, down from about 700, the Justice Department has said. The government has provided no updated figure, nor information about the charges detainees face. An unknown number have apparently pleaded guilty to immigration charges and have been deported.
The case is Ashcroft v. North Jersey Media Group, A-991.
Olson said the hearings could reveal identities of foreign detainees, evidence of their links to terrorism and clues to how much the government knows
One more reason we need to pound Daschle, Leahy and any vulnerable Democratic senate and house 2002 candidates. If they have their way, we will see many more judges of their choosing, doing the same to our country, in the interest of fairness.
But what we really need is OUR judges on the bench.
Olson said the hearings could reveal identities of foreign detainees, evidence of their links to terrorism and clues to how much the government knows
One more reason we need to pound Daschle, Leahy and any vulnerable Democratic senate and house 2002 candidates. If they have their way, we will see many more judges of their choosing, doing the same to our country, in the interest of fairness.
It is amazing how the Anti American Civil Liberty Union works 24/7 to harm America. These scum bags would love for us to expose our intel sources so their buddies the Islamic Terrorists can kill anyone who is reporting to them. There is a so called conservative group of Lawyers, I believe the so Called Lawyers Union which is the clone twin of the ACLU and you see a lot of their bravo sierra posing as conservatism.
We must defeat a large number of Da$$hole's and Leaky Leahy's Rat buddies in the senate this November. Then Da$$hole and Leaky Leahy can slither off to their minority rat holes. Then we can get some more judges out that Leahy and Da$$hole have been holding off on.
By the way, I read some place (I think it was in today's Washington Post) that Dr. Newdow no longer practices medicine full-time. I wonder how he supports his family and is able to spend so much time in presumably unpaid legal pursuits.
#1 I read some place within the last 24 hours that the head of the ACLU in California is the wife of the Judge Reinhardt who provided the second vote for the Ninth Circuit's Pledge decision. Has the ACLU said anything about that decision? I assume they must support it.
The ACLU was one of the main pushers of this Anti God crap. I have been saying for years, that any Judge who is a card carrying ACLUer or married to an ACLUer should recuse themselves in any case being argued by the ACLU. The same priniciple should apply when a Judge is hearing an enviral case. If that judge is a card carrying enviral, he/she/it should recuse themselves. However they never do that as the back room gang bang strategy meetings with their ACLU buddies and enviral buddies set up the outcome of their biased decisions.
#2 By the way, I read some place (I think it was in today's Washington Post) that Dr. Newdow no longer practices medicine full-time. I wonder how he supports his family and is able to spend so much time in presumably unpaid legal pursuits.
Last night my wife turned on our tv. I had watched some of CNBC's morning financial program and the CNBC channel was on. Brian Williams was doing a puff ball interview with this Newdow. My wife's comment, "What a creep! Who would want to have him as a doctor?" Then she changed channels.
He is probably super rich or the anti God/America trial lawyers brought him from Floriduh to get this case to the 9th Circus of Clowns. Apparently he tried the same tactic in Floriduh and got body slammed by Jeb Bush. Maybe Summer can fill us in on his Floriduh anti God attempts.
Thanks as usual for your great finds and feed back.
The good people on Free Republic are hot today!
Well said, my friend...and we can't say it enough.
Our action or inaction now is going to have a huge impact on November 5th...and the results of the election on 11-5 are going to have ramifications for many years to come, especially in the critical area of our judicial system.
We rant, and rightfully so, about the 'Clinton legacy', but the biggest bit of corruption from the Clinton organized crime family that we are going to be cleaning up for years is in the judicial branch.
It is our job to make sure that the American people fully understand that the Daschle Democrats are at the moment successfully stringing out the corruption through their cynical and unforgivable obstruction of Bush judicial nominations.
Regards,
EV
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