Friday, August 10, 2007

Lawyers For Guantanamo Detainees File Suit: New FISA Law Is Unconstitutional

Well, the good news is that about 50 lawsuits have been filed in federal court against Bush’s new warrantless wiretap law. The problem has been one of standing. Suits that are filed need to prove some actual harm or injury. You have to have standing to file such a lawsuit. Well, now we have at least one. And it’s a good one.

The lawsuit filed yesterday in US District Court Judge Vaughn Walker’s court is by the lawyers who are defending Guantanamo Bay detainees. It is in response to a suit filed by government lawyers on Wednesday saying that the new law is now legal ground for the judge to toss out the detainees’ lawsuit. Their lawsuit was filed after learning that the government obtained evidence on the detainees through warrantless wiretapping. Now that it’s the law of the land, the government argues, the detainees’ lawsuit can be tossed.

That gives the detainees standing.

The lawyers will also argue in their lawsuit that the Protect America Act is unconstitutional.

Arguments will be heard next week by a 3 judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

So we have good news on this finally. I have felt very rotten since learning that my rights were handed over to Bush et al. so the political cartoons that I have been seeing in that regard have not been funny to me. Now I can look at them with new eyes and at least smile.

Here they are.




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