The torture of captured suspects is contrary to the values of the American legal system because generally captured suspects are entitled to due process, according to Amendment V of the United States Constitution: “no person shall be . . . deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.” In addition to amendment V of the United States Constitution, Article I, section 9, clause 1 of the United States Constitution 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”. So in theory the U.S can deny Guantanamo Bay detainees their rights to habeas corpus despite holding them in a U.S based facility, since detainees aren’t U.S citizens. …show more content…
However, that is not always the case, in the decision of the Boumediene V. Bush case revealed that under the formation of the Military Commissions Act, U.S courts jurisdictions are not limited for non – U.S citizens cannot deny the rights to captured combatants. The divide between actual convictions and unfair detention is further widened by the Military Commissions Act, denying prisoners in Guantanamo Bay their requests to rights. The United States legal system and higher government are acting unfairly by not extending their jurisdiction to a facility with a few hundred detainees whose guilt of criminal activity has yet to be confirmed. According to the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005, the United States doesn’t have jurisdiction over the Habeas corpus request of Guantanamo Bay detainees. I find the Detainee Treatment act of 2005 to defeat the purpose of Habeas corpus and the justice impaction it’s supposed to create. Detainees are held for an indefinite amount of time without the right to seek legal representation or even a court
The American Civil War not only proved to be the country’s deadliest war but also precipitated one of the greatest constitutional crises in the history of the United States. President Lincoln is revered by many Americans today as a man of great moral principle who was responsible for both preventing the Union’s dissolution as well as helping to trigger the movement to abolish slavery. In retrospect, modern historians find it difficult to question the legitimacy of Lincoln’s actions as President. A more precise review of President Lincoln’s actions during the Civil War, however, reveals that many, if not the majority, of his actions were far from legitimate on constitutional and legal grounds. Moreover, his true political motives reveal his
The Salem witch trials and the situation at Guantanamo Bay are similar as well as different. Both involve torture, unfairness, false accusations and inconclusive outcomes. They violate human rights and the justice process. The Salem witch trials revolve around the fear of neighbors and outsiders and the Guantanamo Bay situation revolves around the fear of terrorism. Although the fears are very different, the results are similar.
Ms. Vanklausen relies on primary and secondary sources with strong credentials in the realm of the constitution, law, public policy, and Americans’ right to freedom (Cato Inst., n.d.; Wikipedia, 2010) to support her argument. The authors have been published in a variety of respected periodicals as well as writing books on these topics. Her sources cite the expert opinions of Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O’Connor and Antonin Scalia (“Can U.S. Citizens Be Held as Enemy Combatants”, Reinking & von der Osten, 2007, pp. 228, 231-233), who are entrusted with the ultimate responsibility to interpret our nation’s constitution and apply this standard to arguments brought before the Court when the rule of law is in question. Ms. Vanklausen also employs excerpts from the Bill of Rights to clarify the protections these individuals are not permitted in this situation. She provides a quotation by Thomas Jefferson, and notes decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court, the Second Circuit Court, and Federal Court Judge Mukasey. She also refers to established truths upon which Americans depend as signs of their freedom, such as “The foundation of liberty has always rested on the resistance to the idea of arbitrary imprisonment by an executive. (Reinking & von der Osten, 2007)
The Constitution of the United States of America protects people’s rights because it limits the power of government against its people. Those rights guaranteed in the Constitution are better known as the Bill of Rights. Within these rights, the Fourth Amendment protects “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable search and seizures […]” (Knetzger & Muraski, 2008). According to the Fourth Amendment, a search warrant must be issued before a search and seizure takes place. However, consent for lawful search is one of the most common exceptions to the search warrant requirement.
The ninth and tenth amendments could be exactly what a women is looking for when choosing to have an abortion. While the ninth amendment states “there are other rights that may exist aside from the ones explicitly mentioned, and even though they are not listed, it does not mean they can be violated.” The fourth amendment states the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated. A woman not having the right to have an abortion would be like saying she doesn’t have the right to do what she wants with her body (violation of the 9th amendment) or in other words, her property.
...s invaluable. The efficacy of torture can be seen in the capture of Zubaydah and the prevention of the “Dirty bomber,” Jose Padilla. Effectiveness has also been proven; it has hypothetically saved many lives and has prevented many plots known to the general public. Ex-Vice President Dick Cheney said in a speech in 2009 that the “enhanced interrogation” of detainees “prevented the violent death of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of innocent people” (“The Report of The Constitution Project's Task Force on Detainee Treatment”, 1). Since it has been deemed illegal by the UN it has to be done in secrecy. In result, it cannot be deduced how much has been prevented by this procedure since that information is classified. However, it is irrefutable that torture, in its essence, is beneficial and should be accepted as a means of ensuring public safety.
“The Fourth Amendment wasn't written for people with nothing to hide any more than the First Amendment was written for people with nothing to say.” (Dave Krueger). The Fourth Amendment protects the people's values, including the right of privacy. The Fourth Amendment includes, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, paper, effects, against unreasonable searches and seizure, shall not be violated.” When the founding fathers created the Constitution they ensured the people fundamental laws that would be used to any issue portrayed in the Supreme Court. That gave the people a relief that no one is ever above the law that is created. The privacy of the people was a very big value enforced by warrants. In the case of the
The Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution provides, "No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury…nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property… nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation"(Cornell). The clauses within the Fifth Amendment outline constitutional limits on police procedure. Within them there is protection against self-incrimination, it protects defendants from having to testify if they may incriminate themselves through the testimony. A witness may plead the fifth and not answer to any questioning if they believe it can hurt them (Cornell). The Bill of Rights, which consists of the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, enumerates certain basic personal liberties. Laws passed by elected officials that infringe on these liberties are invalidated by the judiciary as unconstitutional. The Fifth Amendment was ratified in 1791; the Framers of the Fifth Amendment intended that its revisions would apply only to the actions of the federal government. After the Fourteenth was ratified, most of the Fifth Amendment's protections were made applicable to the states. Under the Incorporation Doctrine, most of the liberties set forth in the Bill of Rights were made applicable to state governments through the U.S. Supreme Court's interpretation of the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment (Burton, 2007).
After the September the 11th attacks on the world trade center, countries around the globe thought it was necessary to take extra precautions when dealing with terrorists. The United States hence forth brought terrorist that were being help to Guantanamo bay. Guantanamo bay hold terrorist that are responsible for the September 11th attacks. These terrorist are kept at Guantanamo in order to prevent any further attacks from happening with in the United States. The prisoners that are help there are subdued to a form of interrogation known as water boarding. The process consists of a cloth being placed over the detainees face and the interrogator proceeds to pour water over the detainees face. This gives the feeling that you are drowning, but really you re panicking because you think you are drowning. Many people
In the American constitution the fourth amendment reads as follows; The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized. The fourth amendment protects personal privacy and every citizen’s right to be free from unreasonable government intrusion into their homes, businesses, and personal lives. However, when the fourth amendment was written by America’s founders, the world was a very different place with limited technology. The amendment does not specifically cover telephones or computers leaving the issue up to the courts. There have been recent articles about warrantless wiretapping in the name of national security against terrorism.
The United State of America, established by the Founding Father who lead the American Revolution, accomplished many hardship in order to construct what America is today. As history established America’s future, the suffering the United State encountered through history illustrate America’s ability to identify mistakes and make changes to prevent the predictable. The 2nd Amendment was written by the Founding Father who had their rights to bear arms revoked when they believe rising up to their government was appropriate. The Twentieth Century, American’s are divided on the 2nd Amendment rights, “The right to bear arms.” To understand why the Founding Father written this Amendment, investigating the histories and current measures may help the American people gain a better understanding of gun’s rights in today’s America.
According to Thomas Jefferson, all men are created equal with certain unalienable rights. Unalienable rights are rights given to the people by their Creator rather than by government. These rights are inseparable from us and can’t be altered, denied, nullified or taken away by any government, except in extremely rare circumstances in which the government can take action against a particular right as long as it is in favor of the people’s safety. The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America mentions three examples of unalienable rights: “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”. I believe these rights, since they are acquired by every human being from the day they are conceived, should always be respected, but being realistic, most of the time, the government intervenes and either diminishes or
The Fourth Amendment, protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. It is the basis for the establishment of an individual's right to privacy. It does not prohibit searches and seizures. It instead prevents those that would be unreasonable. In order to be lawful, a warrant must be judicially sanctioned. Probable cause must be attested to in the acquisition of a warrant to perform the search and/or seizure. And, the warrant must be limited in scope in accordance with the supporting evidence provided in the attestation. The Fourth Amendment is only applicable to government actors and criminal law.
Reagan Hood The Suspension of Habeas Corpus Word Count: 9/15/16 Habeas Corpus is a writ requiring a person under arrest be brought before a judge into court to secure the person’s release, unless lawful grounds are shown for their detention. On April 27, 1861 Abraham Lincoln suspended this writ during the American Civil War. habeas corpus is a very important legal principle. It being included in the main body of the Constitution shows how important this was to the framers of this country. Getting rid of it means that anyone can be arrested and not get a chance to go before a judge.
The grounds of judicial review help judges uphold constitutional principles by, ensuring discretionary power of public bodies correspond with inter alia the rule of law. I will discuss the grounds of illegality, irrationality and proportionality in relation to examining what case law reveals about the purpose and effect these grounds.