SCOTUS: Gitmo Detainees Have Constitutional Rights

SUPREME COURT (AP) - The Supreme Court has dealt the Bush
administration a third setback in how it treats foreign terrorism
suspects being held indefinitely at Guantanamo Bay.
In a 5-4 decision, the court has ruled that the detainees have
the constitutional right to challenge their detention in U.S.
civilian courts. In writing for the majority, Justice Anthony
Kennedy says "the laws and Constitution are designed to survive,
and remain in force, in extraordinary times."
The court also says that the classification and review processs
that the government has in place for the detainees is not a
sufficient substitute for the civilian judicial system.
Chief Justice John Roberts, one of the four to vote in the
minority, is sharply critical of his colleagues for striking down
what he calls "the most generous set of procedural protections
ever afforded aliens detained by this country as enemy
combatants."
It is not immediately clear whether the ruling will lead to
prompt hearings for the detainees, some of whom have been held more
than six years.

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