Biden Issues Statement After Senate Fails To Restore Habeas Corpus Rights Of Detainees

September 19, 2007 -- Washington, DC – Former Chairman and senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, U.S. Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE), voted in favor of an amendment (#2022) to the Defense Authorization Bill to restore habeas corpus rights to those detained by the United States. The writ of habeas corpus, a judicial safeguard which finds it roots in the Magna Carta, grants those being held the right to contest their imprisonment in a court of law. Habeas corpus ensures that if the United States detains an individual, it does so with full respect for the Constitution and the rule of law. The Senate failed to adopt the amendment.

“Habeas corpus was conceived to prevent someone from being locked up illegally, with no chance to contest his/her imprisonment. It is not a get out of jail free card. And it will not result in the release of dangerous terrorists,” said Senator Biden. “As I’ve said before, the terrorists win when we abandon our civil liberties. The way we win is to show them that we can fight this war without changing our character as a nation. I hope the Senate reconsiders this issue once again.”

In 2006, Congress severely curtailed habeas review for detainees when it passed the Military Commission Act. Senator Biden fought against the provisions in the Military Commission Act that deprived detainees of habeas corpus and has been a strong proponent of measures to restore habeas corpus to detainees, especially in the years since 9/11.

Today’s amendment would have made clear that all detained terrorism suspects held by the United States could invoke habeas corpus to challenge their classification as an unlawful enemy combatant and their conviction by a military commission of a war crime.

“The position urged by the Administration, that we must choose between Constitutional rights and fighting terrorism effectively, is simply wrong. Our strength as a nation, and our status as a world leader, is based in part on the fact that Americans do not choose between national security and liberty; we demand both,” said Sen. Biden.

Source: Senator Joseph R. Biden