And So It Begins: Terrorist Who Killed US Soldier in Grenade Attack Petitions for Release -- Because He Wasn't Read His Rights

Against that backdrop [the Boudemaine decision], navy Lt.-Cmdr. Bill Kuebler, Khadr's military-appointed defence lawyer, will use Wednesday's hearing to argue that the entire case against the Toronto-born accused terrorist should be thrown out on grounds U.S. authorities have never told him of his rights.

Which "rights" would those be?

The Supreme Court punted that issue to a district court judge, who will take six months to craft an opinion, which will then have to be reviewed by an appellate court, and then their decision will have to be reviewed en banc (by all members of the court, not just the three judges assigned to the case; big juicy cases are usually reheard en banc), and then, sometime thereafter, the Supreme Court will grant certiorari, find quibbles here and there with the lower courts' various rulings (as they always do), and then remand the case again to lower courts asking them to take another stab at the question which will hopefully, one day, pass muster and be recognized as the prevailing "constitutional" law by the Supreme court.

We won't know definitively if enemy captures have to be Mirandized for at least a year. More difficult questions will take much longer. (I hope the Miranda question will be an easy one for the court, but who can know, given Justice Fuckface Kennedy's continuing "evolution.")

Incidentally, this is a pretty stupid filing, because failure to read a suspect Miranda doesn't result, automatically, in his being released -- it only results in the suppression of any statements he made in absence of being advised of his rights. Unless almost the whole case against him is based on a confession, he can still be imprisoned.

But perhaps this lawyer thought that Super Sexy Celeberity Terrorists had special rights according to the Supreme Court, rights not afforded to us pissant US citizens (who are not super sexy because we don't murder people for Allah).

And who knows, his lawyer might turn out to be right.

Thanks to CJ.

posted by Ace at 06:28 PM

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