Civil Liberties Essay

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Civil Liberties, Habeas Corpus, and the War on Terror Kelly Mathis Pol 201 American National Government David Williams Habeas Corpus is Latin for “You must present the person in court.” This was put into place to protect individuals from unlawful detention. They are required to be brought before a court or a judge. The person may be represented by themselves or an aide acting on their behalf. However even though it protects you from being unlawfully detained it does not protect you against other rights such as a fair trial. Therefore if a person is detained under these circumstances then habeas corpus may not be of use. In 1215 outside of London King John had to sign “Magna Carta”, which is a document that protected the rights of…show more content…
Conservatives believe that most people who are guilty use this as an escape route. They feel that inmates who have been incarcerated and are on death row are using this as a way to prolong the process. However the Liberals view Habeas Corpus as protection of individuals being held in violation of the constitution and laws of the United States. They feel the Writ of Habeas Corpus is solely to release innocent persons who are wrongfully imprisoned. The Constitution states that “The privileges of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended only when in cases of rebellion or invasion of the public safety may require it.” In October 17 2006, President Bush drew great criticism when he signed a law suspending the rights of the Writ of Habeas Corpus to those who the United States considered to be “enemy combatant” (a person in an armed conflict could be properly detained under the laws and customs of war.) This is called the Military Commissions act of 2006. Many Americans felt that over 200 years of principles and values had been revoked. However this was not the first time that the guarantee of the Writs of Habeas Corpus right stated in the U.S. Constitution was suspended by a President of the United States. During the U.S. Civil War President Abraham Lincoln suspended writs of habeas corpus. Both Presidents were faced with much criticism for what citizens felt were…show more content…
D. (2011). Habeas corpus: From england to empire. International Journal of Law in Context, 7(2), 257-269. doi: 10.1017/S1744552311000085 Zakaria, F. (2006, Dec 16). Habeas corpus on the ropes in a shadowy war BOOKS & IDEAS. International Herald Tribune, pp. 8-8. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/318801047?accountid=32521 Vieira, E. (2008, Oct 13). Hazards for habeas corpus. The New American, 24, 34-38. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/218088248?accountid=32521 John Burton (2008, June 13). US Supreme Court upholds habeas corpus for Guantánamo Bay prisoners. http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/jun2008/cour-j13.shtml. Retrieved September 17, 2012, from http://Enter URLwww.wsws.org/articles/2008/jun2008/cour-j13.shtml Wikipedia (2012, July 16). United States Central Command. In Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved September 17, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Central_Command Alliance for Justice (n.d.). Restoring Habaes Corpus. afj.org. Retrieved from http://Enter

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