HABEAS CORPUS

TERESA WATSON

AMERICAN NATIONAL HISTORY

PROFESSOR BRENT SCHINDLER

FEBUARY 4, 2013

Habeas Corpus in its most familiar form has played an important role in “Anglo American history as a safe guard of individual liberty. It is defined as being a writ directed by a judge to some person who is detaining another, commanding him to bring the body of the person in his custody at a specified time and a specified place for a specified purpose. In contemporary practice, the writ is most commonly used to challenge the legality of criminal convictions and sentence, though it is also used to challenge the legality of custody in other settings, including immigration, mental health, and military contexts. The availability
In 2004 Rasul v. Bush became the first case in which the Supreme Court directly discussed Bush Administration Guantanamo detention policies. 542.U.S.466. The court in this case held that 28 USC & 241 permits federal district courts to hear habeas corpus petitions by aliens held within territory over which the U.S. exercise “plenary and exclusive jurisdiction.” This holding also included Guantanamo detainees. The court then instructed the district courts to hear the petitions. Bush Administration responded to Rasul by permitting detainees to bring their petitions before Military tribunals, the Supreme Court again addressed the matter in 2006 when they decided Hamden V. Rusfield 548.U.S.557. The court in Hamden held that the President lacks constitutional authority under the Commander in Chief Clause to try detainees in military tribunal. The tribunals also violated the uniform code of military justice and the Geneva Conventions. Furthermore, the court rebuked the government arguments that they AUMF expanded Presidential authority. The Supreme Court plays an important role/part in protecting civil liberties. The court is the institution that can overturn acts of the elected branches if it believes that these acts violates the right of individuals. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the federal judiciary has the power to issue writs of habeas corpus only when Congress gives it such power. Article I, section 9, of the Constitution, however says,