CHICAGO, June 28, 2004 – LAWFUEL – The American Bar Association is pleased
that the Supreme Court’s decision in Rumsfeld v. Hamdi reaffirms a principle
that has been a bedrock of our democracy: that U.S. citizens deprived of their
liberty are entitled to contest the basis of their detentions in a court of
law, and fundamental fairness requires access to counsel to assist them in
that challenge.
As has been recognized by the Court since the nation’s founding, secret
determinations by the executive branch concerning the liberty of its citizens
are fundamentally inconsistent with the core meaning of due process and the
rule of law in a democratic society.
