Restore habeas right.

Byline: The Register-Guard

In an election-induced panic attack last fall, the Republican-led Congress tossed overboard a fundamental right that has been part of the Anglo-American legal tradition since the Magna Carta in 1215.

Now, the new Democratic majority in Congress should move swiftly to rectify this terrible mistake and restore the right of habeas corpus to all foreign prisoners in U.S. jurisdiction.

Two bills in the Senate seek to restore the habeas right, guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, for all foreign detainees. That fundamental right was revoked four months ago after Congress passed and President Bush signed into law the Military Commissions Act of 2006. This despicable and unnecessary law denies foreign detainees traditional habeas corpus review in civilian courts and permits the use of evidence obtained through torture.

The first bill is a bipartisan proposal sponsored by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and his predecessor as chairman, Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa. This narrowly focused measure, which would restore the habeas right for all prisoners in U.S. jurisdiction, was defeated by only three votes in the Senate last year. With the shift of power after last November's election, the Leahy-Specter bill should have little problem passing, barring an unexpected filibuster.

A second, much broader bill was introduced last week by Sens. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., a contender for the Democratic presidential nomination, and Bob Menendez, D-N.J. Their proposal would not only restore the right of detainees to challenge their detention, but would also bar evidence gained through torture and allow detainees to invoke the Geneva Convention.

The Dodd-Menendez bill is a promising bill that addresses several of the most glaring flaws in the Military Commissions Act. Because it covers more legal ground than the Leahy-Specter bill, it may also draw more opposition in both the Senate and the House.

Supporters of the Leahy-Specter bill have rightly noted that simple restoration of habeas corpus rights would ensure that some of the Military Commissions Act's other flaws, such as the use of evidence obtained through torture, would eventually be overturned by the courts.

Both bills deserve swift and serious consideration. Congress should never have strayed from the hallowed principles of Anglo-American legal tradition, particularly one that prevents kings or any governments from arbitrarily tossing people behind bars without charges and keeping them there indefinitely.

Article 1, Section 9 of the Constitution states: "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."

Last time we checked, the United States was neither in a state of rebellion nor under invasion. Congress should restore the constitutional right to habeas corpus without delay.