CategoriesJoin Us At:
|
DOJ Seeks Rehearing of ACLU Rendition CaseToday was the deadline for the Obama Justice Department to request a full panel hearing of Mohamed v. Jeppesen, the extraordinary rendition case that we won before a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit in April. And sure enough, they asked. We're disappointed. Ben Wizner, staff attorney with the ACLU National Security Project who successfully argued the case in February on behalf of the plaintiffs, said in statement today: The Obama administration has now fully embraced the Bush administration's shameful effort to immunize torturers and their enablers from any legal consequences for their actions. The CIA's rendition and torture program is not a 'state secret'; it's an international scandal. If the Obama administration has its way, no torture victim will ever have his day in court, and future administrations will be free to pursue torture policies without any fear of liability. April's 9th Circuit decision (PDF) reversed a lower court dismissal of the lawsuit against Jeppesen Dataplan, a Boeing subsidiary, which the ACLU brought on behalf of five men who were kidnapped and secretly transferred to U.S.-run prisons or foreign intelligence agencies overseas where they were interrogated under torture. The suit charges that Jeppesen knowingly participated by providing critical flight planning and logistical support services to aircraft and crews used by the CIA to forcibly disappear these five men to detention and interrogation. The Bush administration had intervened, improperly asserting the "state secrets" privilege to have the case thrown out. The appeals court ruled, as the ACLU has argued, that the government must invoke the state secrets privilege with respect to specific evidence, not to dismiss the entire suit. Last week, Ben, who is counsel in the Jeppesen case, testified before a House Judiciary Committee subcommittee in favor of H.R. 984, State Secrets Protection Act of 2009, which would help narrow the overly-broad executive power. Among other things, the bill would help check executive branch's power by ensuring judges conduct a preliminary review of the "confidential" information before reaching a decision. You can learn more about the case at www.aclu.org/jeppesen. So stay tuned. The court has to agree to a full panel (also known as "en banc") hearing, first.
We intend the comments portion of this blog to be a forum where you can freely express your views on blog postings and on comments made by other people. Given that, please understand that you are responsible for the material you post on the comments portion of this blog. The only postings that we ask that you refrain from posting and that we cannot permit on our website are requests for legal assistance and postings that could cause ACLU to incur legal liability.
One important law in that regard is the prohibition on politically partisan activity. Given our nonprofit status, we may not endorse or oppose candidates for elective office. That means we cannot host comments on our site that show a preference for one candidate or party. Although we in no way wish to discourage you from that activity elsewhere, we ask that you not engage in that activity on our website (or include links to other websites that do so). Additionally, given that we are subject to very specific rules concerning the collection of personally identifying information through our website (names, email addresses, home address, financial information, etc.), we ask that you not use the comments portion of this blog to solicit this information from users of our website. We also ask that you not use the comments portion for advertising or requests for legal assistance, and do not add to your comment links to other websites, as we cannot be responsible for the content on other websites. We are not able to respond to unsolicited inquiries, complaints or requests for assistance sent to this blog. Please direct your complaint or request for assistance to the ACLU affiliate in your state. Requests for legal assistance left in the blog comments will not receive a response or be published. Finally, the ACLU cannot guarantee the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information in the comment section and expressly disclaims any liability for any information in this section. 4 Responses to "DOJ Seeks Rehearing of ACLU Rendition Case" |
|
© ACLU, 125 Broad Street, 18th Floor New York, NY 10004 |
Jun 14th, 2009 at 11:39am
Hold the Bush Administration Accountable, for Torture, Denial of Due Process, and Absence of Habeas Corpus. As a Free People The United States of America, We must uphold values of The United States Constitution, and Bill of Rights, so that no one suffers from Torture, and Abuse. The Bush Administration has definately Failed on every level of Justice.
Jun 14th, 2009 at 12:35pm
Dear Mr. President and Mr. Atty General,
Your actions don't seem to match your words. You talk freedom, justice, and no man is above the law.
Yet you defend torture, rendition and illegal spying.
You cannot justify this by saying "My" administration does not do these things. Even if that were true you have an obligation to the Country and to your office to protect the US in the future beyond your administration's time.
Investigation and prosecution are the ONLY way to ensure this horrible non-American practice will stop.
America before politics is important. John Adams knew this. Lincoln knew this.
Jun 16th, 2009 at 2:55am
We must investigate all claims of torture and any other war crimes and we must prosecute all who took part in these crimes no matter who they are. We ca not afford to allow anyone to go free who has committed such acts or who ordered such acts to be carried out if we hope to ramain a nation ruled by law. If we do not investigate these crimes and prosecute those involved then we become a nation of criminals who reject the rule of law.
Jun 18th, 2009 at 7:27pm
Suppose they are found innocent? What do you do next? Accept the jury verdict or change it to your thinking?
As for Lincoln you need to do more research. During the Civil War he locked up people without any cause plus there are a few more items. Might be interesting reading.