4/20+4/28: Call for Action at the Supreme Court - About People's Rights

The Blue Triangle Network has endorsed the following call for action at
the Supreme Court on April 20 and 28. We urge everyone to respond to
this urgent situation.

Can the Rights of People Simply Disappear by Presidential Order?


What does it mean when the President of the United States can on his
own designate a citizen in the U.S. as an "enemy combatant" and order
the military to hold that person incommunicado, indefinitely, and
without charges? The U.S. Supreme Court is now deciding whether the
courts even have the right to question the President's action.

What does it mean when the U.S. military internationally can literally
snatch people off the street, designate them as "enemy combatants," and
assert that they are beyond the reach of either U.S. or international
law? Many are transported to a facility under total U.S. control and
funded by Congressional appropriations, where they are held
incommunicado, indefinitely, without charges, and some are threatened
with trials before a military commission that falls short of basic
standards of justice.

If the Supreme Court upholds these actions, it will condone the
President's claim of virtually unlimited "wartime powers" without a
formal declaration of war by the Congress, and with no or extremely
limited oversight by the courts or the Congress.

On April 20 the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the
President's alleged right to create a "law free zone" at the Guantánamo
detention center in Cuba. And on April 28, the Court will hear oral
arguments on the President's asserted right to designate citizens as
"enemy combatants," hold them at the U.S. Navy base in Charleston, SC,
and deny them the ability to challenge the lawfulness of their detention.

We believe that the President cannot be allowed to create a "legal
Black Hole" into which people are dropped with no recourse to the
courts or to international law. Among us we hold many varied views on
how and why this situation has arisen and what is ultimately needed to
ensure justice. But we all agree that this dangerous new presidentially
designated category of "enemy combatants" who have no legal rights is
unjust, illegal, and immoral, and cannot be allowed to stand.

The silence over this perilous issue must be broken, and public
opposition must be manifested. Join us in front of the U.S. Supreme
Court on April 20 and April 28 to declare a resounding NO!

Our future and the future of hundreds of anonymous detainees now hang
in the balance. This is a watershed event in history. What is at stake
is just how much the President will be allowed to get away with. Your
silence will be taken as assent.

[list in formation]

Amnesty International USA

Bill of Rights Defense Committee

Blue Triangle Network

First Amendment Foundation

National Committee Against Repressive Legislation (NCARL)

National Lawyers Guild

Refuse & Resist!

Elaine Cassel, Civil Liberties Watch

Stephen Rohde, civil liberties lawyer


Please reply to: NationalOffice [at] bluetriangle.org
Blue Triangle Network
P.O.Box 7451, Dearborn, MI 48121-7451
(313) 942-7187