Can the Rights of People simply disappear by Presidential Order?

Can the Rights of People Simply Disappear by Presidential Order?

From: http://www.nlg.org/eccases/

What does it mean when the President of the United States can on his own designate a citizen in the U.S. as an “enemy combatant,” and order the military to hold that person incommunicado, indefinitely, and without charges? The U.S. Supreme Court is now deciding whether the courts even have the right to question the President’s action.


What does it mean when the U.S. military internationally can literally snatch people off the street, designate them as “enemy combatants,” and assert that they are beyond the reach of either U.S. or international law? Many are transported to a facility under total U.S. control and funded by Congressional appropriations, where they are held incommunicado, indefinitely, without charges and some are threatened with trials before a military commission that falls short of basic standards of justice.
If the Supreme Court upholds these actions, it will condone the President’s claim of virtually unlimited “wartime powers” without a formal declaration of war by the Congress, and with no or extremely limited oversight by the courts or the Congress.

On April 20 the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the President’s alleged right to create a “law free zone” at the Guantanamo detention center in Cuba. And on April 28, the Court will hear oral arguments on the President’s asserted right to designate citizens as “enemy combatants,” hold them at the U.S. Navy base in Charleston, SC, and deny them the ability to challenge the lawfulness of their detention.

We believe that the President cannot be allowed to create a “legal Black Hole” into which people are dropped with no recourse to the courts or to international law. Among us we hold many varied views on how and why this situation has arisen and what is ultimately needed to ensure justice. But we all agree that this dangerous new presidentially-designated category of “enemy combatants” who have no legal rights is unjust, illegal, and immoral, and cannot be allowed to stand.

The silence over this perilous issue must be broken, and public opposition must be manifested. Join us in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on April 20 and April 28 to declare a resounding NO! Legally permitted, non-violent demonstrations will occur on both days from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm with a program of speakers beginning at 11:am.

Our future and the future of hundreds of anonymous detainees now hang in the balance. This is a watershed event in history. What is at stake is just how much the President will be allowed to get away with. Your silence will be taken as assent.


Endorsing Organizations (list in formation)

National and International Organizations

American Friends Service Committee
American Muslim Voice
Amnesty International USA
Arab American Institute
Bill of Rights Defense Committee
Blue Triangle Network
Cambios Planetarios
Community Solutions Foundation Trust, LLC.
Council on American-Islamic Relations
Equal Justice USA/Moratorium Now!
First Amendment Foundation
Freedom Socialist Party
Guantanamo Human Rights Commission
Japanese American Citizens League
La Resistencia
Muslim Civil Rights Center
National Committee Against Repressive Legislation (NCARL)
National Lawyers Guild
Not in Our Name Project
Oct. 22nd Coalition to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation
Pax Christi USA
Proposition One Committee
Refuse & Resist!
Solidarity USA
Two-Edged Sword Incorporataed
United for Peace and Justice

Regional and Local Organizations

ACLU of Wake County, North Carolina
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee Los Angeles, Orange County Chapter (ADC LA/OC)
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) DC Area Chapter
Communities United Against Police Brutality (Minneapolis)
Greensboro Justice Fund
Immigrant Justice Solidarity Project-NYC
New Jersey Civil Rights Defense Committee

Individuals*
Jeanne A. Butterfield, attorney, Washington, DC
Elaine Cassel, Civil Liberties Watch
Riva Enteen, Chair, KPFA Local Station
Linda Gettier, ACLU of Wake County, NC
Deborah Gordon-Brown, C.S.W.
Connie Hogarth, for Connie Hogarth Center for Social Action, Manhattanville College, Purchase NY
C. Clark Kissinger, contributing writer for the Revolutionary Worker
Robert Meeropol, Rosenberg Fund for Children
Dr. and Mrs. Michael C. Milam, Professor, University of South Florida
Robert E. Moran, Digital Constructs, Inc.
Efia Nwangaza, African Am Institute for Policy Studies
Rev. Jim Oines, Lutheran Pastor and worker in the Sanctuary Movement for Central American Refugees, Thousand Oaks, CA
Stephen Rohde, civil liberties lawyer
Jennifer Martin Ruggiero, Freesherman.org
Bud and Ruth Schultz, most recently the authors of "The Price of Dissent"
Edwin Schultz, Plymouth Meeting, PA
Pamela Shorey, Willimantic, CT
Shoba Sivaprasad, atttorney, Washington D.C.
B.M. Vocking o.p., Dutch Member of the Dominican Order
Immanuel Wallerstein, Yale University


* Individuals' organizations listed for identification purposes only

For your organization to sign this call, email eccases@nlg.org

For internet resources on these cases click here.

For legal resources for demonstrations click here.




In addition to the organizations and individuals signing this call, many other groups have demonstrated their concern by representing the plaintiffs or by filing amicus briefs with the court. Among those who have filed briefs are:

On the Guantanamo issue:

Center for Constitutional Rights represents Shafiq Rasul, Asif Iqbal, and David Hicks
American Civil Liberties Union
Retired Military Officers Amicus
Fred Korematsu Amicus
Commonwealth Lawyers Association Amicus
Former Federal Judges Amicus
Former POW Amicus
US Diplomatic Amicus
Former Diplomats Amicus to Supreme Court
Int'l Bar Assoc. Amicus to Supreme Court
Legal Historians Amicus to Supreme Court
Omar Ahmed Khadr Amicus to Supreme Court
Ret. Military Officers Amicus to Supreme Court
Nat'l Inst. for Military Justice Supreme Court Amicus
Fred Korematsu Supreme Court Amicus
Int'l Comm. of Jurists Supreme Court Amicus
British Parliamentarians Supreme Court Amicus
Consortium Supreme Court Amicus
Emerging Democracies Supreme Court Amicus
Commonwealth Lawyers Assoc Supreme Court Amicus
Former Guantanamo Officials Supreme Court Amicus
Military Defense Counsel Supreme Court Amicus
Saudi Prisoners Supreme Court Amicus
Hungarian Jews Supreme Court Amicus
Former POW Supreme Court Amicus
International Law Professors Supreme Court Amicus



On the case of Yaser Hamdi:

Frank Dunham of the Federal Defenders office represents Yaser Hamdi
ACLU Amicus Brief
Nat'l Ass'n of Criminal Defense Lawyers Amicus Brief (Filed in 4th Cir. Court of Appeal)
Center for Constitutional Rights Amicus Brief (Filed in 4th Cir. Court of Appeal)

On the case of Jose Padilla:
Donna Newman represents Jose Padilla

Center for Constitutional Rights and National Lawyers Guild Amicus
American Civil Liberties Union Amicus
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and NYS Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Amicus
Experts on the Laws of War Amicus
The Cato Institute, Lawyers Committee for Human Rights Amicus
Hon. John J. Gibbons, et al. Amicus
American Bar Association Amicus

Tweet