Law Professors’ Letter to Senators Regarding Graham Amendment (Act S. 1042)
A group of law professors write in opposition to the Amendment, introduced by Senator Lindsey Graham, to the Department of Defense Authorization Act.
The law professors write to senators in opposition to the Graham Amendment, which seeks to remove existing habeas corpus jurisdiction over pending and future petitions of Guantánamo detainees. They assert that the Amendment disturbs the separation of powers, allowing the Executive to “choose the prisoners, choose the charges, choose the judges, choose the punishment-and cut off judicial review of its determinations.” Furthermore, the authors decry the hasty process of the amendment’s enactment as a violation of checks and balances. They believe there was not sufficient information gathering and debate over the Amendment’s challenge to the Constitution’s protection of detainee rights.