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This bedrock right has no adequate substitute.
In Brown v. Vasquez (August 1991), the Ninth Circuit US Court of Appeals "recognized the fact that (the) writ of habeas corpus is the fundamental instrument for safeguarding individual freedom against arbitrary and lawless state action...."
"Therefore, the writ must be administered with the initiative and flexibility essential to insure that miscarriages of justice within its reach are surfaced and corrected."
Habeas rights are fundamental. They date from the 1215 Magna Carta (the Great Charter). They're universal. Boumediene v. Bush affirmed them. On Monday, the Roberts court reversed its earlier ruling.
On June 11, the Supreme Court denied certiorati for seven Guantanamo detainees. Doing so violated the Constitution's Article 1, Section 9, Clause 2. It states:
"The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public safety may require it."
Section 7(a) of the 2006 Military Commissions Act denied Guantanamo detainees their fundamental habeas rights. Boumediene ruled otherwise.
So did Rasul v. Bush (June 2004). The Supreme Court held that Guantanamo detainees may challenge their detention in civil court. In response, Congress enacted the 2005 Detainee Treatment Act. It subverted the ruling.
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