Tue, 05 Jun 2007 16:11:36 GMT From: "Patrick Leahy" <[EMAIL
PROTECTED]> To: "Carole Wilson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Restoring
Habeas Corpus -- Your help needed before Thursday #message { overflow:auto;
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Dear Carole,
Urge your Senators to restore habeas corpus today!
Of the many assaults on our civil liberties and American values that
transpired when the Republicans held complete control of our government, one of
the last was also one of the worst. Many of you may recall the hasty passage of
the Military Commissions Act in the weeks leading up to last year's election, a
bill that set new rules for trying detainees, in particular those currently
being held at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
Even a Supreme Court dominated by Republican-appointed justices had found the
Bush Administration's Guantanamo setup to be unconstitutional. This bill,
rushed through a rubberstamp Republican Congress, was the Bush Administration's
way to keep court review in the future to a minimum.
The passage of this bill was a profound mistake, and its elimination of
habeas corpus review was its worst error. Like the internment of Japanese
Americans during World War II, the elimination of habeas review was a reflex
driven by fear and is another stain on America's reputation in the world.
Righting this wrong is one of my top priorities, and on the first day of this
Congress I joined with Senator Arlen Specter, the Ranking Member on the Senate
Judiciary Committee, in introducing the Habeas Corpus Restoration Act of 2007
(S. 185). This bipartisan bill already has 17 cosponsors, but it faces a
crucial vote in the Judiciary Committee this Thursday so we need your help.
Please e-mail your home-state Senators today and urge them to protect our
fundamental liberties by supporting the Habeas Corpus Restoration Act.
The Great Writ of habeas corpus traditionally guaranteed every person the
right to challenge government detention before a fair and independent court, to
protect against the unlawful jailing of people and depriving human beings of
their most basic liberties. Enshrined in our Constitution in Article I, Section
9, the Great Writ was of primary importance to our founders -- it is one of the
only rights guaranteed in the main body of the Constitution and it is so
fundamental that it dates back to the Magna Carta.
Unfortunately, the Military Commissions Act crossed this line by eliminating
this right for any non-citizen who is unilaterally asserted to be an "enemy
combatant" by the Bush administration. Such unchecked power to deprive people
of liberty is anathema to the principles of our great nation.
But the Military Commissions Act barred the assertion of habeas rights from
more than just the several hundred individuals held at Guantanamo Bay: It gives
President Bush the power to lock up any one of the more than 10 million lawful
permanent residents based on his unilateral assertions and deprive such US
residents of their constitutional rights to have an independent judge determine
whether such detention and deprivation of their liberty and livelihood is
lawful.
These draconian rules would apply to legal residents who are in the US,
living lawfully with their families, contributing to our economy and our
society and serving in the military.
Considering the history of our nation's founding and the basic rights that we
have held dear for more than two hundred years, there is only one word that can
be used to describe this suspension of the Great Writ of habeas corpus:
un-American.
That is why I hope that you will e-mail or call your home-state Senators
today and urge them to support the Habeas Corpus Restoration Act of 2007.
The Habeas Corpus Restoration Act is our first chance to reverse one of the
Bush Administration's many assaults on our civil liberties -- and it's critical
that we act now.
We all want to make America safe from terrorism, but turning us into a state
that can "disappear" its own residents does not make us safe. And it certainly
violates the values that we have held dear for centuries.
The elimination of basic legal rights undermines, not strengthens, our
ability to defeat terrorists. It is from strength that America should defend
our values and our way of life. It is from the strength of our freedoms, our
Constitution, and the rule of law that we can prevail. We can ensure our
security without giving up our liberty.
I will keep fighting for this issue until we restore the checks and balances
that are fundamental to preserving the values that define us as Americans. And
I hope you'll take just a minute, today, to join me in speaking out -- before
Thursday's Judiciary Committee vote.
Please help me restore a fundamental American right by urging your home-state
Senators to support the Habeas Corpus Restoration Act Today!
Sincerely,
Patrick Leahy
U.S. Senator
Email Your Senators | Contribute Today!
Paid for by Leahy for U.S. Senator Committee, Inc.
PO Box 1042
Montpelier, VT 05601
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