Detention & Habeas Corpus

In the aftermath of 9/11, the Bush administration authorized the wholesale detention of individuals suspected of terrorism. While in executive detention, which is often shrouded in secrecy, prisoners have been forbidden access to due process of the law and fair judicial review. Despite the fact that habeas corpus is a constitutionally protected law that allows the imprisoned to question the grounds for their detention, the government has denied these individuals this right.

The Brennan Center is working to restore habeas corpus.We are educating the public on the administration’s abandonment of legal principle, while working with Congress to bring greater transparency, accountability, and respectability to American detention and interrogation policy. In Ten Things You Should Know About Habeas Corpus, Liberty & National Security Litigation Director Jonathan Hafetz discusses the importance of the mighty writ. The Brennan Center is also counsel in Al-Marri v. Wright, the only case now being litigated about the detention of a person as an “enemy combatant” within the United States. Al Marri is one of the most important cases now in the federal courts. We also serve as counsel in path-breaking cases that challenge the military detention of U.S. citizens overseas (Omar v. Harvey and Munaf v. Geren). In addition, we are working to prevent the policy of “extraordinary rendition.”

    Kiyemba v. Obama

    The Center and three other organizations submitted an amicus brief on October 31, 2008, urging the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to affirm the D.C. District Court’s decision to release 17 Uighurs currently detained unlawfully at Guantánamo Bay into the U.S.

    Arar v. Ashcroft

    The Brennan Center filed an amicus brief in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of a group of distinguished federal judges in support of Maher Arar, a Canadian who was subject to extraordinary rendition to Syria.

    Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri

    The Center is defending a Qatari national detained as an “enemy combatant” in the United States. Mr. al-Marri has been imprisoned without trial and without due process since 2003. The U.S. Supreme Court has scheduled arguments in Mr. al-Marri’s case for April 27.  A separate, ongoing case is challenging Mr. al-Marri’s conditions of confinement.

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    Lorraine Leete and Liza Goitein

    Uighur Release is Welcome, but Leaves Fate of Remaining Detainees Uncertain

    Now that Bermuda and Palau have offered to resettle the Guantánamo Uighurs, what will happen to the rest of the detainees? 

    Liza Goitein

    Grading the Obama Administration

    Government transparency is vital to a free and well-functioning democracy, and it is particularly so in the area of national security....

    Ari Melber

    Obama’s State Secrets Claims Face Mounting Opposition from Courts, Advocates

    President Barack Obama has drawn praise, but his use of the “state secrets” privilege to squash lawsuits on torture and surveillance is drawing mounting opposition....

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    Illustrations by Risko

    Bermuda Accepts Detainees as U.S. Starts Dismantling Guantanamo

    The Brennan Center welcomes the Burmudan government’s decision to resettle four Guantánamo Uighurs.

    Executive Privilege System Broken, Report Finds

    Center proposes new legislation to resolve executive privilege disputes.

    On Transparency, Obama Succeeds and Disappoints in First 100 Days

    Detailed 30-Page Report Card reveals Obama’s need to improve accountability in cases of government misconduct.

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    Investigating Violations of the Rule of Law in Counter-Terrorism Policy

    Proposal for an independent commission to investigate any violations.

    Emily Berman’s Statement for the Record for Hearing on Torture and the Office of Legal Counsel

    Emily Berman submitted a Statement for the Record regarding the most troubling legal deficiences in the three May 2005 memoranda issued by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel to the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts.

    Frederick A.O. Schwarz Jr. Before Hearing on “Truth Commission”

    Testimony in support of a nonpartisan, independent commission of inquiry. Delivered before Senator Leahy’s hearing, “Getting to the Truth Through a Nonpartisan Commission of Inquiry”

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    So Many Secrets

    Essay in the New Republic explores if Pres. Obama will change his heart on a key rule-of-law issue.

    Transparency in the First 100 Days: A Report Card

    Detailed 30-Page report card reveals Obama’s need to improve accountability in cases of government misconduct. 

    Transparency in the First 100 Days | Secret Law

    Detailed 30-Page report card reveals Obama’s need to improve accountability in cases of government misconduct. This page offers detailed analysis and recommendations.

    More Analysis & Commentary