Misterimpatient

Man these people talk fast. If the rule of law is interesting to you, listen to this:
Hamdan_v_Rumsfeld.mp3
Just right click and select “Save Link As”

It sure seemed to me that more justices were siding with Hamdan, the plaintiff in the case. I’d forgotten how these things go but these cases aren’t just ONE argument per side. Each side presents a whole platter of means through which the court can find for their position. By the time a case gets to this court, the arguments are not about guilt or innocence. The arguments are focused on procedure, jurisdiction, interpretation of law and fundamental constitutionality.

What you hear, loud and clear, in this case is a court that would like to avoid dealing with any issue of constitutionality. Sort of. I think many of the justices would like to find as narrowly as possible which could be as narrow as the military tribunals just not being ok for Hamdan. That’s narrow when you consider there are hundreds of other case pending in the system. The court could simply find that the Hamdan is entitled to be handled according to the Geneva Conventions or they could conclude that the Universal Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) applies to Hamdan.

Or, they could decide that this really is a different sort of war and different rules apply.

As a left leaning person on most things related to personal liberty, I’m thrilled its taken 4+ years for this case to reach the Supreme Court. Any attempt to rule here while in the full glow of the 9/11 events, would certainly have biased the case against Hamdan. Of course, this isn’t really about Hamdan. It’s about an executive branch attempting to exercise powers which they’ve not exercised in the past or which has been prevented from being exercised in the past.

Anyway, listen to the arguments. It’s very cool stuff.

Oh yes, I forgot to mention this. Justice Roberts is not sitting for this case. He ruled against Hamdan when he sat on the lower court so he recused himself. Can you imagine a 4-4 tie? In that circumstance, the ruling of the lower court stands.

Later…

Filed by misterimpatient at 7:58 pm under Justice, sometimes, Slightly left of Center