Swift responses to new law on detainees (by their lawyers)

[madmusic]

Congress' new legislation reacting to the Supreme Court's June 28 decision in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld has now been signed into law. This is expected to set the stage for a variety of new challenges to various provisions in the new law, ultimately reaching the Supreme Court. At this early point, it is unclear which case or cases may provide tests that would reach the Court.

UPDATE, 4:18 p.m. Attorneys for Salim Ahmed Hamdan, the detainee facing war crimes charges before a "military commission" in the wake of Congress' passage of the new commission bill, on Tuesday asked a federal judge in Washington, D.C., to allow new briefing on the impact of the new commission law on Hamdan's case. His case is back in District Court following the ruling in his favor by the Supreme Court last Term. in the new motion, attorneys for Hamdan said that he continues to have a claim challenging his ongoing detention by the U.S. military. But, he said, the new commission law "puts in question this Court's subject matter jurisdction" over that claim. That part of the law, the motion argued, is "of doubtful constitutionality." Moreover, it added, "the Constitution provides a right tohabveas relief independent of statutory authorization, a privilege that has not been validly suspended."

More details and explanations: http://www.scotusblog.com/movabletype/archives/2006/10/government_urge.html

EDIt: In the detainees' motion for permission to file new briefs on the new law's impact, found here, the attorneys argued that the Act raises a number of new issues: whether the law denies the appeals court authority to decide the pending habeas appeals and, if so, whether that is an unconstitutional suspension of the writ; whether the new law unconstiutionally bars Geneva Conventions claims; whether it unconstitutionally delegates to the Executive branch powers that belong to the courts, and whether the definition of "unlawful enemy combatant" must be interpreted to conform to "the laws of war."