Hamdi v. Rumsfeld
We joined with the America Civil Liberties Union, the American Jewish Committee, and the Union for Reform Judaism in an amici brief in support of Yaser Esam Hamdi, a U.S. citizen who was captured in Afghanistan in 2001 and held on U.S. soil by the military for nearly three years without charge as an “enemy combatant.” Our brief argued that Hamdi was entitled to contest his “enemy combatant” status in a proceeding that comported with due process. In a plurality opinion issued on June 28, 2004, a majority of justices agreed, opining that the Executive Branch did not have power to hold a U.S. citizen indefinitely without basic due process protections, and that Hamdi must be given an opportunity to challenge his detention before a neutral decision maker. As Justice Sandra Day O’Connor wrote in the lead opinion, “a state of war is not a blank check for the President when it comes to the rights of the Nation’s citizens.” Public Justice also participated as amicus in support of Hamdi while the case was before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
