Senate Approves Requiring Military Custody in Terror Cases

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/30/us/politics/senate-approves-military-custody-for-terror-suspects.html

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: barry levine 
Date: Wed, Nov 30, 2011 at 9:39 AM
Subject: re: Senate Approves Requiring Military Custody in Terror Cases
To: letters@nytimes.com


To the Editor:

   The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees that "No person shall be...deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law". The amendment does not define "due process", but throughout our history to this point, it has been interpreted to mean that only a duly constituted court of law can wield such power.  A proposed federal statute that would grant to the Executive "the legal authority to keep [citizens] suspect of terrorism in military custody, indefinitely and without trial"  would violate both the separation of powers and the Fifth Amendment.  Congress does not have the power to grant this to the Executive and only a tyrannical Executive would accept it.

Barry Haskell Levine