http://makeashorterlink.com/?D18125593
excerpt: Two American citizens are now held in solitary confinement under this asserted presidential power. One, Yasser Hamdi, was found under unexplained circumstances on a battlefield in Afghanistan. The other, Jose Padilla, was arrested on arrival at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago after spending time in Egypt and Pakistan. Both are totally isolated. They are not allowed to speak to a lawyer. They may not see their families. Lawyers appointed to act for Mr. Hamdi and Mr. Padilla challenged their detention. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, in Richmond, Va., made the first appellate ruling . against Mr. Hamdi. It held that the constitutional guarantee of the right to counsel "in all criminal prosecutions" did not apply because Mr. Hamdi was not being prosecuted. That reasoning reduced constitutional law to sleight of hand: The government can impose solitary confinement, perhaps for life, if it simply avoids giving the prisoner a trial. If what was done to Mr. Hamdi did not technically violate the Sixth Amendment, it surely deprived him of liberty without due process of law. James Madison, the principal author of the Bill of Rights, would have been astounded at the notion. So would the average American today if told he could be taken off the street and imprisoned forever without being able to call a lawyer. -- "Erik Reuter" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.erikreuter.net/ _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
