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DOJ says Guantanamo detainees have some constitutional protections: report

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] The US Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) has cautioned that Guantanamo Bay detainees tried by military commission in the US have some constitutional protections, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. According the report, the OLC told the White House in a confidential memo that while federal courts may not extend all Constitutional rights to detainees, they were likely to find that the use of coerced statements would violate Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. The memo advised the White House to seek changes to the Military Commissions Act of 2006 to address the Fifth Amendment issue and strengthen the constitutional basis of the commissions, echoing the conclusion reached last week by the US Senate Armed Services Committee. Last month, US President Barack Obama announced that he would use the controversial military commissions system to try some Guantanamo Bay detainees. The move drew criticism from human rights groups, which called the plan "fatally flawed," continuing a long line of criticism of the commissions for admitting some evidence that is barred from federal court, including hearsay or coerced confessions. In January, Obama issued an executive order directing the military prison be closed "as soon as practicable and no later than one year from the date of this order," which has led the government to consider various options for detainee disposition.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on June 29, 2009 (boomark / email).