Enemy Combatants

Yaser Hamdi is an American citizen who was captured on the battlefield in Afghanistan and has since been denied the right to meet with a laywer. Jose Padilla is an American citizen who was arrested at Chicago's O'hare airport as a material witness but soon after his arrest was declared an enemy combatant under a presidential order. Hamdi and Padilla are not considered prisoners of war and therefore do not get protection under the Geneva Conventions. Because they are not charged with crimes, they are not afford the rights of the American legal process. The current administartion holds the position that prisoners declared by the military as enemy combatants do not have the right to lawyers and can be held indefinitely without being charged. Click on the links below to learn more.

• Yaser Hamdi
• Read briefs and decisions from 4th Circuit Court

• Jose Padilla
• December 18, 2003: The federal court of appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that President Bush does not have the authority to detain Jose Padilla.
• Center for National Security Studies Amicus Brief in support of Padilla filed in the Appeals Court for the Second Circuit (July 28, 2003)
• Amicus Brief in support of Padilla's right to counsel submitted on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union, New York Civil Liberties Union, and Center for National Security Studies. (September 26, 2002)

• The American Bar Association released its resolution on enemy combatants that recommends enemy combatants be afforded the opportunity for meaningful judicial review and that they not be denied access to counsel in connection with this review. Furthermore the resolution calls upon the administration to establish clear standards and procedures for those detained as enemy combatants. (February 10, 2003)