executive order re: military trials

[David Bernstein]

It's worth keeping in mind that during the (public) trial of the first WTC
bombers, it was revealed that the Towers were built to withstand a direct hit
by a 707.  It is entirely possible that this (1) gave the terrorists the idea
to hit the towers with a plane; and (2) gave them the information that a
bigger plane than a 707 would probably work.  Future trials could reveal US
intelligence sources, vulnerabilities, etc.  I suppose there are probably
ways of keeping civilian trials secret, with attorneys provided by the
government (or with security clearances), etc., but is that a preferable
route to military trials?

In a message dated 11/14/01 2:41:10 PM Eastern Standard Time, funk at LCLARK.EDU
writes:


> >
> My god!  The Order authorizes the President to identify any noncitizen
> who is or was a member of al Qaida and has engaged in international
> terrorism or has aided international terrorists.  That person is then to
> be seized by the Secretary of Defense and tried by a military tribunal
> under rules of procedure that provide for such parts of the trial to be
> secret as necessary to protect classified information.  The right to
> appeal or seek habeas corpus from civil courts is specifically denied.
> Were it limited to persons apprehended outside the United States...., it
> would be one thing.  The trial by military commissions of captured
> belligerents or spies in a theater of war has substantial precedent.
> But nothing in the order excludes its use with respect to the 800 odd
> persons currently in detention in the United States for immigration
> violations, if the President makes the necessary determinations.
> Correct me if I'm wrong, but the last domestic military tribunal (not
> to be confused with courts martial) involved the German spies captured
> on the east coast during WW II and discussed in ex parte Quirin, 317 US
> 1 (1942), and the next to last one was the military tribunal that tried
> those involved in the Lincoln assassination plot.  These are precedents
> for military tribunals domestically, but I had hoped that the situations
>



David E. Bernstein
Associate Professor
George Mason University
School of Law
Home page: http://mason.gmu.edu/~dbernste
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