Hamdan vs Rumsfeld

 

The Supreme Court rejected the position of the Bush Administration that they can hold terrorist without due process and the protection of the Geneva Accords. The court in a 5-3 ruling stated that detainees at Guantanamo Bay were entitled to be tried either under the rules of a military trial or other rules that approved by Congress but not by rules unilaterally set up by the executive branch. The ruling also stated that the Geneva Accords on prisoners apply to a terrorist as well. The ruling was the most extensive rejections of Presidential power in a generation. The Bush administration in the wake of 9/11 oversaw one the most significant increases in presidential powers in generations. The decision in the Hamdan case indicated that the Supreme Court did not accept the underlying basis of the Bush Administrations actions- that the executive branch in a time of war could set its own rules. Text of Decision