Supreme Court blocks opening detention hearings for alleged terrorists

[kuangning]

June 28, 2002 Posted: 10:33 AM EDT (1433 GMT)


WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court on Friday blocked a judge from opening immigration hearings for international terrorism suspects, granting the Bush administration's emergency request for a stay.

[...]
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.

To recap this: They have already ruled that those detained have no right to counsel. Now they have decided that the hearings will be closed to press and public. Does this sound like America to you?

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/killjoy_/]

Sadly enough, yes it does. Could be worse.

[kuangning]

"Could be worse" is exactly what I'm afraid of.

Re:

[http://users.livejournal.com/killjoy_/]

You're hardly the only one...

[galith.livejournal.com]

"To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but morally treasonable to the American public." - Theodore Roosevelt

"People who are really very weird can get into sensitive positions and have a tremendous impact on history." - J. Danforth Quayle

"Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the Government’s purposes are beneficent. Men born to freedom are naturally alert to repel invasion of their liberty by evil-minded rulers. The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well meaning but without understanding." - Justice Louis Brandeis

Unfortunetly quotes don't really do much...

[baxil.livejournal.com]

How outrageous! It sounds to me like the sort of country that would furiously pass an affirmation of its most-used oath after the inclusion of the word "God" was questioned by a court; and a country whose leader subsequently would vow to elect judges who agreed that our rights were derived not from any innate quality of our existence but from an outside authority vaguely described in religious texts.

It's a good thing that that sort of religious fundamentalism is confined to the Middle East ... wait. Oh, shit.

Re:

[kuangning]

*laughs.* Point. But you know what? I was sold on the dream of America years before I ever stepped off that plane. I'm trying hard to believe that my adopted home can't be like this. They seem to be determined to prove me wrong, though...

[charles.livejournal.com]

It's not unexpected. America responded in a similar way to the Communist threat.

Re:

[kuangning]

... And a year ago, reacting in the same way would have been unthinkable. Yet here we go again. We've come so far and learned so very much, that we're going to replay the scenario. Same schtick, different target.

[moonmama.livejournal.com]

I would say that it doesn't sound like America, but..I'm beginning to think this isn't the America we used to know anymore.