Habeas corpus takes hit

Capitol Hill Blue reports:

The compromise between President Bush and Senate Republicans on detainee treatment has one gaping flaw. It carves out an open-ended exception to the great legal principle of habeas corpus.

Habeas corpus has its roots deep _ it is said to predate the 1215 Magna Carta _ in English common law, from which we derive our own legal system, and, on issuance of a writ, it requires a prisoner to be brought before a court to determine whether he is being lawfully held and, if not, released.

It is a principal safeguard of civil liberty, essential toward making the government obey the law.

Habeas corpus is specifically mentioned in Article One of the Constitution, which mentions only two exceptions for its suspension, "Rebellion or Invasion," mercifully, neither of which prevails today.