Press Releases
Justice

Where’s Congress in this Power Play?

Thirty years ago, a Senate committee headed by the late Sen. Frank Church exposed widespread abuses by law enforcement and intelligence agencies dating to the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration. In the name of “national security,” the FBI, CIA and National Security Agency spied on politicians, protest groups and civil rights activists; illegally opened mail; and sponsored scores of covert operations abroad, many of which imperiled democracy in foreign countries.

– 04/01/07

Brennan Center Analysis Leads Missouri Governor to Order Minimum Wage Increase

– 03/15/07

Court Gives Government the Right to Establish Prisons Outside the US

Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District Court of Columbia dismissed habeas corpus petitions from approximately 400 people currently detained at the U.S. Detention Center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

– 02/20/07

In a Landmark Ruling, DC Circuit Court Upholds Supreme Court View that War is not a Blank Check

The D.C. Circuit today issued a landmark ruling rejecting the Administration’s authority to detain U.S. citizens without judicial review. The Court rejected the government’s argument, accepted already by one federal district court, that the executive branch can detain a U.S. citizen, and deny him any access to judicial review, provided that it can point to some “international” authority for the detention. 

Crucial Court Hearing Challenges Congress’ Power to Deprive Individuals of Habeas Corpus Rights

oday, for first time in court, lawyers challenged Congress’ power to deprive individuals in the U.S. of habeas corpus rights pursuant to the Military Commissions Act. Lawyers for Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, who has been detained without charges since December 2001, argued the U.S. government’s detention policy - and the premises on which it is based—violate the U.S. Constitution. Government lawyers responded that the president is acting within his powers and that, due to passage of the Military Commissions Act, the circuit court of appeals lacks jurisdiction to hear the case.