Rights of the Accused

Rights of the Accused

http://www.badnarik.org/Issues/RightsOfAccused.php

Of all the infringements upon our Constitutionally protected rights, the most egregious in living memory may be the post-9/11 "detention" of individualsâ??American and non-Americanâ??in secrecy and without charges or access to counsel.

As someone who values all our rights, I do not make this statement lightly. Consider, however, the nature of the crime (and yes, it is a crime).

Under normal circumstances, if one's rights are violated, one may petition the government for redress of grievances, go to court to obtain satisfaction, or take some other action to regain the expression of the rights which were infringed upon.

People like Joseph Padilla, Yaser Hamdi and the hundredsâ??maybe even thousandsâ??of individuals illegally detained by the federal government, both at home and abroad, have no such recourse. In many cases, the government doesn't even admit that it has them in custody. If they are tried, it may be by "military tribunal"â??a kangaroo court from which there is no appeal and in which they may be denied the right to confront their accusers or to examine the evidence against them.

This is not how we do things in America. We do not kidnap people. We do not hold prisoners without charge or justification. And we do not operate or condone the equivalent of Charles the First's "Star Chamber"â??secret courts with arbitrary and capricious proceedings and standards of evidence.

Among the complaints our Founding Fathers cited in their Declaration of Independence as justification for throwing off the British government, we find the following:

"For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury ... For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences ... For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government ..."

Those same framers enshrined the rights that George III violated in the Constitution they created to replace his rule. They were right to do so, and their example must be followed.

In the case of "enemy combatants" and other "detainees," the choice is quite simple: They may be held as prisoners of war, with all the protections afforded them by the Geneva Convention (a treaty ratified by the Senate pursuant to its Constitutional Authority), or they may be held as accused criminalsâ??with all the protections afforded them by the Constitution. There are no other lawful alternatives.

As your president, I will act swiftly to have all "detainees" properly classified.

Those charged with crimes will receive access to counsel, speedy public trial by jury, the right to confront their accusers, to examine the evidence against them and to produce evidence and witnesses in their own defense.

Those held as prisoners of war will, if a state of war obtains, be treated in accordance with the Geneva Convention until such time as the war ends and they can be repatriated to their countries of origin.

Those who do not answer to either description will be freed, indemnified and offered the sincere apologies due them.

It's time for America to start being America again.

I'm Michael Badnarik, Libertarian for President. I ask the tough questionsâ??to give you answers that really work!