SPECTER, LEAHY INTRODUCE BILL TO "RESTORE" HABEAS CORPUS

SPECTER, LEAHY INTRODUCE BILL TO "RESTORE" HABEAS CORPUS

In another sign of shifting ground in the post-election Congress,
Senators Arlen Specter and Patrick Leahy yesterday introduced the
"Habeas Corpus Restoration Act of 2006," which would reinstate
federal court jurisdiction over Guantanamo detainees and other
suspected enemy combatants.

The bill would repeal two provisions of the Military Commissions
Act of 2006 enacted in September that limit habeas corpus.
"Habeas corpus" refers to the ability of a detainee to seek
judicial review of his case.

"The Constitution of the United States is explicit that habeas
corpus may be suspended only in time of rebellion or invasion,"
observed Sen. Specter. "We are suffering neither of those
alternatives at the present time. We have not been invaded, and
there has not been a rebellion."

"This bill would restore the great writ of habeas corpus, a
cornerstone of American liberty for hundreds of years that
Congress and the President rolled back in an unprecedented and
unnecessary way with September's Military Commissions Act," said
Senator Leahy.