“The laws and Constitution are designed to survive, and remain in force, in extraordinary times.”

- wall art by Banksy

“The laws and Constitution are designed to survive, and remain in force, in extraordinary times.”
- Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, United States Supreme Court

Foreign terrorism suspects held at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba have constitutional rights to challenge their detention by seeking appeal in United States courts, the Supreme Court ruled today.


Guantánamo Bay
photo by Todd Heisler/The New York Times

The New York Times reports:

"Anthony Coley, a spokesman for Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, said: “When Congress passed the Military Commissions Act in 2006, Senator Kennedy called the act ‘fatally flawed’ and said ‘its evisceration of the writ of habeas corpus for all noncitizens is almost surely unconstitutional.’ Today, the Supreme Court agreed, and rejected the Bush administration’s blatant attempt to create a legal black hole beyond the reach of the rule of law.”

Complete text of the Supreme Court decision on Guantánamo at:

BOUMEDIENE ET AL. v. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE

UNITED STATES, ET AL.