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Habeas Corpus is a right that all Americans should hold dear. As with many other promises contained in the Constitution, the Writ of Habeas Corpus is one that protects the American people from their government. The only time it had previously been suspended was during the Civil War by Abraham Lincoln, and he had done so legally “in a time of war.” President Bush, however, has attempted to circumvent the rules of the Constitution by giving some terrorism suspects special treatment with an “enemy combatant” moniker. The name enables the government to treat the victim as a POW, even if s/he is an American citizen.

The Military Commissions Act of 2006 aimed to “facilitate bringing to justice terrorists and other unlawful enemy combatants through full and fair trials by military commissions, and for other purposes.” Instead, however, it faciliates the deliberate destruction of several rights integral to the American tradition. Pushed through by a Republican Congress, the act has raised eyebrows at watchdog organizations like Amnesty International.

Dozens of cases like that of Jose Padilla have clogged the American military justice system as dozens of prisoners remain in Guantanamo Bay awaiting charges, not a trial. The Democrats, desperate for an election win in 2006, claimed they would repeal the bill. Still, months into a new Democratic-led majority, we’ve seen no policy change and no new direction. It seems as if the Democrats are content with revoking Habeas Corpus as well. The current Administration doesn’t understand the unconstitutionality of the bill, and nor does Congress.

Fortunately for America, the judicial system does. This week, a federal court ruled in favor of an enemy combatant, noting that the federal government could not imprison a US resident on suspicion alone. The beauty of America lies in its system of checks and balances, and, finally, the government has done its job. After Congress and the White House failed to protect individual freedoms, the courts have stepped up to the plate, finally doing what should have been done long ago.

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The In Victory for Freedom, Courts Succeed Where Legislators Could Not by New School Politics, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.