Obama Administration Should Not Revive Military Commissions, Says ACLU

"While the Justice Department is correct that the Constitution must apply to trials of terrorism suspects, it is gravely wrong to think that this can happen in the context of revived military commissions. The commissions system is inherently illegitimate, unconstitutional and incapable of delivering outcomes we can trust. It is designed to ensure convictions, not achieve justice.

"If the Obama administration truly intended to try the detainees in a system that provides fundamental rights and protections, it would do so within the tried-and-true federal court system where both national security evidence and fundamental rights can be protected. The only conceivable reason to design an alternative legal system would be to evade due process requirements. The proposed fixes to the Bush-era military commissions are thoroughly insufficient; there is no such thing as 'due process light.' If the Obama administration chooses to proceed with the commissions, it will find itself mired down in the same morass of legal challenges that the Bush administration did.