NOVEMBER 30, 2011

Re-posted 10/03/2012, Still important, This bill is still in effect.. It is a reminder. WE STILL NEED TO TAKE ACTION AGAINST THIS NOW A LAW, AMERICANS CAN STILL BE DETAINED INDEFINITELY WITHOUT TRIAL!!

In Case anyone has not heard of this yet by now!

Habeas Corpus and the right to trial — in other words, the right to fair treatment by government. These constitutionally-protected rights are in danger of being nullified through a new Department of Defense bill.

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 – S 1867 — crafted in secret by Senators Carl Levin (D-MI) and John McCain (R-AZ) would declare the entire United States of America as a military battlefield, where individuals — American citizens and non-citizens alike — are subject to arrest and indefinite detention by the President without the right to step into a courtroom.

Judge Andrew P. Napolitano said recently on his show Freedom Watch, “While you were shopping and dining over Thanksgiving, and maybe watching some football games, Big Government Republicans and Democrats were busy shredding the last vestiges of the Constitution … they’re talking about inserting the Army into domestic law enforcement.” Napolitano then quoted Republican Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC) as saying “The homeland is part of the battlefield and people can be held without trial whether an American citizen or not.”

Have these legislators read the Constitution?

Codified in the Bill of Rights, the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution says:

“In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.”

The United States Constitution says in the second clause of Section 9 of Article I:

“The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.”

Earlier this year the House voted on a similar bill: HR 1540,where only 6 Republicans — Amash, Campbell, Chaffetz, Duncan (TN), McClintock, and Paul — voted it down.

Representative Justin Amash (R-MI) wrote today on his facebook page that S. 1867 is “one of the most anti-liberty pieces of legislation of our lifetime.” Moreover, Amash maintains that the the bill capitalizes on misleading semantics; regarding section 1032 , he says “‘The requirement to detain a person in military custody under this section does not extend to citizens of the United States.’ This language appears carefully crafted to mislead the public. Note that it does not preclude U.S. citizens from being detained indefinitely, without charge or trial, it simply makes such detention discretionary.”

Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) has opposed this piece of legislation as it stands and has proposed amendments — amendments 1062 and 1064– to strike-down verbiage that provides government power against US citizens.

Senator Paul warned on the Senate floor earlier today: “Should we err today and remove some of the most important checks on state power in the name of fighting terrorism, well then the terrorists have won … detaining American citizens without a court trial is not American.”

Update 11/30: The Senate rejected Rand Paul’s amendment 1064 to modify S. 1867 on November 29; Mark Udall’s amendment 1107 was also rejected. Amendment 1064 received 30 ayes and 67 nays; the only GOP support came from Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV), Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), and Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME]. Amendment 1107 received 37 ayes and 61 nays, where on two Republicans voted in favor — Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Sen. Rand Paul.

http://www.conservativeactionalerts.com/2011/11/unconstitutional-bi...