Executive Excess V. Judicial Process: American Judicial Responses to the Government's War on Terror

Abstract:     
The federal government's policy responses to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the ensuing conduct of President Bush's war on terror have thrown American civil liberty rights into disarray. Attorney General Ashcroft and Defense Secretary Rumsfeld have trampled U.S. constitutional and international norms in their unlawful detention of hundreds of individuals and designation of enemy combatants, unlawful combatants, and material witnesses. The federal judiciary is now responding to these executive abuses. This article considers the early judicial responses to the policies effectuated by the Bush administration.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 38

Keywords: Bush, war on terror, civil liberties, enemy combatant, unlawful combatant, geneva convention, Ashcroft, detention, terrorist, terrorism

JEL Classification: K10, K40

Accepted Paper Series