Reaction To The Decision
The impact of the decision on the petitioner (Hamdan) was that he can still be tried; however, his trial must be in a court, such as a military court-martial, or possibly a commission that has court-like protections.
Shortly thereafter, the Military Commissions Act of 2006 may have raised again the issue of which court would hear cases such as Hamdan's. The U.S. Department of Justice has filed notice with several federal judges, and given notice to hundreds of detainees, that the habeas petitions of alien unlawful enemy combatants (or those whose status is to be determined) are not within the jurisdiction of those courts.
The passage and signing of the Act follows through on President Bush's expressed intention to get explicit Congressional authorization to use military tribunals. Press Secretary Tony Snow echoed the plan to appeal to Congress.
However, even among Senate Republicans, there were conflicting views. Senators Arlen Specter and Lindsey Graham (the latter a former military prosecutor) indicated Congress would work quickly to authorize tribunals, while influential Senator John Warner suggested a cautious and deliberative response. The potential for Congressional action also provided an avenue for politicking, as Republicans threatened Democratic members of Congress with being labeled weak on terrorism if they did not authorize tribunals.
On July 7, 2006 the Secretary of Defense issued a memo "Application of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions to the Treatment of Detainees in the Department of Defense". This may be the basis of a July 11, 2006, statement by the Bush administration that all detainees at Guantanamo Bay and in U.S. military custody everywhere are entitled to humane treatment under the Geneva Conventions. This declaration appears not to cover CIA detainees and is ambiguous with respect to the interpretation of Common Article 3 and the definition of "humane treatment".
There were some indications that the other detainees being held at facilities throughout the world (e.g. Bagram Air Base and black sites), might use the Supreme Court's ruling to challenge their treatment. Their reasoning may be that since the Geneva Conventions afforded protection to Hamdan, its other protections might be effective for them as well. Commentators expressed mixed opinions about the strength of this argument.
Read more about this topic: Hamdan V. Rumsfeld
Famous quotes containing the words reaction to, reaction and/or decision:
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—Hannah Arendt (1906–1975)
“In contrast to revenge, which is the natural, automatic reaction to transgression and which, because of the irreversibility of the action process can be expected and even calculated, the act of forgiving can never be predicted; it is the only reaction that acts in an unexpected way and thus retains, though being a reaction, something of the original character of action.”
—Hannah Arendt (1906–1975)
“Once the decision has been reached, close your ears even to the best counter-argument: a sign of strong character. Thus an occasional will to stupidity.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)