Judge reinstates NDAA kidpapping powers
NEW
YORK (Sept. 18, 2012) – A federal appeals judge restored the
government’s alleged power to kidnap people on American soil and
detain them until the end of an endless war.
Last
week, U.S. District Court Judge Katherine Forrest granted
a permanent injunction
on enforcement of section 1021(b)(2), which allowed the federal
government to indefinitely detain virtually anybody for any reason
without due process. The judge found language in section 1021
overbroad and that it would allow for detention of those engaging in
constitutionally protected free speech. She also said detention
provisions deny prospective detainees basic due process rights.
The
Obama administration appealed almost immediately and asked Forrest
for an immediate stay. She refused. On Monday, government lawyers
asked the Second U.S. Court of Appeals in Manhattan to issue an
emergency stay, reinstating the power to indefinitely detain people
on U.S. soil.
“The
Justice Department sent a letter to Forrest and the Second Circuit
late Friday night informing them that at 9 a.m. Monday the Obama
administration would ask the Second Circuit for an emergency stay
that would lift Forrest’s injunction,” lead plaintiff Christopher
Hedges wrote. “This would allow Obama to continue to operate with
indefinite detention authority until a formal appeal was heard.
U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit Judge Raymond Lohier granted
the stay Monday evening. It will remain in place until the appellate
court rules on the case. The court is expected to take up the issue
beginning on Sept. 28.
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