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Research Report

Ten Things You Should Know About Habeas Corpus

  • Jonathan Hafetz
Published: May 17, 2007

In 2005 and again in 2006, Congress passed the Detainee Treatment Act and the Military Commissions Act, restricting habeas corpus rights for “enemy combatants.”  As the struggle against terrorism presses on, Americans have a simple choice to make: During wartime, does the president of the United States have to abide by the Constitution and be subject to oversight by Congress and the judicial branch?  Or, is the president above the law, answering to no one? Ten Things You Should Know About Habeas Corpus seeks to help answer these questions by explaining the facts and correcting the misperceptions surrounding habeas corpus.