"to uphold such extraordinary power would effectively undermine all of the freedoms recognized by the Constitution," ...

Court rules US can't detain enemy combatants without charges | RAW STORY | Published: Monday June 11, 2007

The normally conservative 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today that the US can't detain enemy combatants without filing charges, in a case involving "an immigrant [the US] believes is an al-Qaida sleeper agent."

"In the 2-1 decision, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel found that the federal Military Commissions Act doesn't strip Ali al-Marri of his constitutional rights to challenge his accusers in court," Associated Press reports. "It ruled the government must allow him to be released from military detention."

The court panel said that "to uphold such extraordinary power would effectively undermine all of the freedoms recognized by the Constitution," and sanctioning "such presidential authority to order the military to seize and indefinitely detain civilians, even if the President calls them 'enemy combatants,' would have disastrous consequences for the constitution - and the country." ...