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Terror Laws:

Police State U.S.A.

Excerpts from "US tells the courts: leave bad guys to us" in the "Sydney Morning Herald" Newspaper June 21, 2002

The United States Government has argued that it is perfectly legal to hold US citizens in custody without filing charges against them and without giving them access to a lawyer - and that the civilian courts have no right to intervene...

A strongly worded brief signed by the Deputy Solicitor-General, Paul Clement, signals the Government's intention of claiming broad presidential authority in the cases of terrorist suspects caught overseas ... The document also argues that the civilian courts have no standing to intervene.

"This is really an astounding assertion of authority," said David Cole, professor of law at Georgetown University. "It's not just that you have no right to a lawyer; it's that you have no right to even have a hearing ... If that is true, then there is really no limit to the president's power to label US citizens as bad people, and then have them held in military custody indefinitely."

The court-appointed public defender, Frank Dunham, who has until today to respond, agreed: "It is scarier than the dirty bomb. Now the government can label somebody something and then throw the key away forever."

Some legal scholars compared the filing to arguments used by the government in World War II to intern thousands of Japanese Americans as alleged security threats, and warned that Mr Bush was seeking unfettered authority to lock up US citizens with no external review.

 

For more such information see "TerrorLaws" : A list for information and action on the proposed terrorism laws in Australia. http://www.topica.com/ists/TerrowLaws/read for daily updates.

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