Habeas corpus

September 18, 2007 -- U.S. Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today spoke on the Senate floor regarding an amendment to the Defense Authorization bill that he and Senator Leahy (D-Vt.) introduced yesterday entitled “Restoration of Habeus Corpus for those Detained by the United States.”

The amendment is currently pending before the Senate and a cloture vote is expected tomorrow (Wednesday) at approximately 10:30 a.m.

Below is a copy of Senator Specter’s floor statement follows:    » read more »

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.    » read more »

September 17, 2007 -- "Last year, Congress committed an historic mistake by suspending the Great Writ of habeas corpus — not just for those confined at Guantanamo Bay but for millions of legal residents in the United States. The Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing in May on this bill illustrated the broad agreement among representatives from diverse political beliefs and backgrounds that the mistake committed in the Military Commissions Act of 2006 must be corrected. The Habeas Corpus Restoration Act of 2007, S.186, the bill on which this amendment is based, has 30 cosponsors.    » read more »

Washington, DC (7/26/2007) - The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) was encouraged today by the House Armed Services Committee hearing titled Upholding the Principle of Habeas Corpus for Detainees. The committee discussed Chairman Ike Skelton's (D-MO) proposed bipartisan legislation restoring the due process right of habeas corpus that was taken away by the Military Commissions Act last fall. The ACLU hopes this hearing will lead to the enactment of Chairman Skelton's bill.    » read more »

July 10th, 2007 -- Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pa), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, spoke on the floor of the Senate regarding habeas corpus.

A copy of his remarks are below:

Mr. President, I thank my distinguished colleague from Vermont, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, for his generous remarks. I compliment him on his leadership on the committee and for his work generally, but especially on our efforts to restore habeas corpus.    » read more »

July 10 - Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Ranking Member Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) took to the Senate floor today to urge senators to adopt an amendment they plan to offer later this week that would restore the habeas corpus protections stripped as a result of last year’s Military Commissions Act.    » read more »