(YASER HAMDI)DoD Announces Detainee Allowed Access to Lawyer

DOD ^ | 12/03/03 | DOD

[mrsmith]

DoD Announces Detainee Allowed Access to Lawyer

The Department of Defense announced today that Yaser Esam Hamdi, an enemy combatant detained at the Charleston Consolidated Naval Brig in Charleston, S.C., will be allowed access to a lawyer subject to appropriate security restrictions. Arrangements for that access will be developed over the next few days.

DoD is allowing Hamdi access to counsel as a matter of discretion and military policy; such access is not required by domestic or international law and should not be treated as a precedent.

DoD decided to allow Hamdi access to counsel because Hamdi is a U.S. citizen detained by DoD in the United States, because DoD has completed its intelligence collection with Hamdi, and because DoD has determined that the access will not compromise the national security of the United States.

Hamdi is not eligible for trial by military commission under the President’s military order of Nov. 13, 2001, and has not been criminally charged in any court. Detention as an enemy combatant is not criminal in nature but is permitted under the law of war to prevent an enemy combatant from continuing to fight against the United States. Under the law of war, enemy combatants may be detained until the end of hostilities.

DoD policy is that it will permit access to counsel by an enemy combatant who is a U. S. citizen and who is detained by DoD in the United States after DoD has determined that such access will not compromise the national security of the U. S.; and after DoD has completed intelligence collection from that enemy combatant or after DoD has determined that such access will not interfere with intelligence collection from that enemy combatant.

[Grut]

I suspect this is being done to give the Supreme Court an 'out' if they want to defer to the executive branch's handling of the matter. SCOTUS can now find that since access to a lawyer is 'allowed', the Hamdi/Padilla case is moot even though Padilla has not yet been allowed such access. The decision of 'when' to allow access is arguably within the purview of the executive, where the decision not to allow access at all raised constitutional issues.

Clever, but I still don't want to need Hilary's permission to see my lawyer.

[mrsmith]

If you don't join a group congress declares war on you won't need any president's approval to see a lawyer.

I doubt this will have any effect on Padilla's appeal.
If the courts think Padilla may have info they need to decide his Habeas Corpus petition they will have to insist upon a way to get it.

[aristeides]

The German saboteurs in the Quirin case in 1942 were allowed lawyers. In fact, they had one excellent one who was later Secretary of the Army. I could never understand what the harm would be in allowing the current terrorists to have lawyers, so long as the lawyers are properly cleared.

[Grut]

If you don't join a group congress declares war on...

War on Drugs, War on Poverty, War on Abortion Protesters, War on Gun Nuts....

[mrsmith]

Someone certainly survived the war on ignorance unscathed.