Habeas Corpus and the Use of Military Tribunals Essay -- American Hist

Habeas Corpus and the delectation of Military TribunalsIn the States Under the Threat of Terrorism doorwayIt was on this date one hundred forty two long time ago (April 25, 1861), that President Abraham capital of Nebraska sent a letter to Lt. ecumenic Winfield Scott authorizing the suspension of The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus . Lincoln had been president for little than two months and was facing, what was up to that time and arguably may still be the greatest threat to the survival of the United States since the Founding Fathers launched this Great essay. Only eleven days earlier Major Robert Anderson, the commander of the federal garrison at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, had to surrender the fort to the follower Army. Lincoln was reluctant to issue such an order but had do so as he faced the very real first step that the Maryland legislature would convene and take action to arm the people of that assert against the people of the United States .Thus began the fi rst of several occasions in our nations history where a president when faced with a clear and present danger to our case security has had to balance fulfilling his pesterer to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution with the privilege to have any detainment reviewed by a judge or magistrate of competent jurisdiction. Problem StatementHow out-of-the-way(prenominal) may law enforcement officials go in compromising complaisant liberties to sharpen national security? What does the Constitution say with respect to the suspension of the civil liberties in times of national emergency? How has the U.S. Supreme Court interpreted the constitution with respect to the suspension of habeas corpus? Few citizens would disagree that national security is a legitimate function of governing. First and foremost, our national government is responsible for the protection of life, then liberty. The most ardent champions of the Bill of Rights suffer that it would be foolish to treat civil liber ties as inviolable when the lives of costless thousands are at stake. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson, dissenting in a free speech case, gave these words of warning regarding civil libertiesThe election is not between order and liberty. It is between liberty with order and mutiny without either. There is danger that, if the Court does not temper its doctrinaire system of logic with a little practical wisdom, it will c... ...lue Freedom. Or it can be an indictment of our fear if we abrogate the liberties so much cherished and so dearly paid for.BibliographyRehnquist, William H. All the Laws But One, New York Alfred P. Knopf, 1998Blacks Law Dictionary. Abridged Seventh Ed., p. 569, West Group, St. Paul, MN (2000) Garret, Buck The Unconstitutionality of season Limits Placed on The Great Writ, Prisoner of War in America - http//www.nov.org/garret.May97.htmRembar, Charles. The Law of the Land The Evolution of Our Legal System, pp.141 -156, Simon and Schuster, New York , (1981)Kleinfeld, Joshua. The Union Lincoln Made, p. 24, History Today, Vol. 47, Nov 1997.Authorities and Cases CitedU.S. Constitution, Article 1, 9Terminiello v. Chicago, 337 U.S. 1 (1949)Ex Parte Milligan, 71 U.S. 2 (1866)Ex Parte Quiran, 317 U.S. 1 (1942)Ashcroft, John. Statement to the Press re The Capture of Jose Padilla, July 10, 2002 Padilla v. Bush, et al., 233 F. Supp. 2d 564 (S.D.N.Y. 2002)Padilla v. Rumsfeld. 233 F. Supp. 2d 564, No. 02 Civ. 4445, 2003 U.S. Dist. (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 11, 2003)Padilla v. Rumsfeld. 233 F. Supp. 2d 564, No. 02 Civ. 4445, 2003 U.S. Dist. (S.D.N.Y. Apr.9, 2003)