Press Releases
Liberty & National Security
BC Responds: Boumediene & Omar and Munaf Decisions
Today, in two cases, the Supreme Court affirmed the paramount importance of habeas corpus as a cornerstone of the rule of law.
– 06/12/08
Groups Across the Spectrum Join Forces in Defense of Separation of Powers
Attorneys at the Brennan Center filed a brief asking the District Court of Washington DC to allow Congress to proceed with its efforts to enforce the subpoenas issued against White House staffers Joshua Bolten and Harriet Miers.
– 05/29/08
U.S. Government Admits It Destroyed Videotape in Enemy Combatant Case
Yesterday the U.S. government admitted, for the first time, that officials destroyed videotapes that documented interrogations of Ali Almarri, the only alleged “enemy combatant” still detained on U. S. soil.
– 05/02/08
Discredited Yoo Memos Led to “Enemy Combatant” Detainment and Denial of Habeas Corpus
Today, the Brennan Center for Justice asked a federal court to end the detention of a U.S. resident who is being held on the advice of long-discredited Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) memos which sought to justify torture and indefinite detention.
– 04/08/08
Government Fails to Muzzle “Peace Pastor” Frederick Boyle
Rev. Boyle, the ordained minister known as the Peace Pastor, reached an agreement with the federal government today that ends his unfair prosecution and maintains his right to speak out against the Iraq War.
– 04/01/08
Court Asked To Investigate Why Interrogation Tapes Were Destroyed
Brennan Center files motion to order the U.S. Government to stop destroying videotaped evidence of interrogations.
– 03/21/08
Motion Filed Questioning Brutal Conditions of Al-Marri Confinement
Brennan Center asked a U.S. District Court to order the government to redress the prolonged isolation and inhuman treatment of a U.S. resident who is being held at the navy brig in South Carolina. The motion raises fundamental questions about so-called “enemy combatants” and the laws that should govern their detention.
– 03/13/08
“Peace Pastor” Sues Director of OFAC
On Wednesday, February 27, the Brennan Center will argue the case of a Reverend who says his due process and other Constitutional rights were violated by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
– 02/26/08
Brief Filed in Munaf v. Geren and Geren v. Omar Habeas Cases
Today the Brennan Center for Justice, along with the MacArthur Center for Justice, filed a brief with the Supreme Court seeking judicial review and a writ of habeas corpus for two U.S. citizens detained in Iraq and held by U.S. personnel for the past two to three years.
– 02/21/08
Supreme Court Agrees to Rehear Guantanamo Detainees’ Habeas Challenge
Today, the Supreme Court agreed to review a Circuit Court decision that upheld the Military Commissions Act of 2006 (MCA), which eliminated habeas corpus for Guantanamo detainees. In April the Court originally denied review of the appeals court’s 2-1 decision, finding that the MCA validly stripped Guantanamo detainees of habeas corpus because they have no constitutional rights. However, the Supreme Court reversed course today, granting the detainees’ motion to reconsider that decision and grant review.
– 06/29/07