Constitutionality 101

“I think the moment has arrived for the court to shine the light of constitutionality on the reasons for detention,” Judge Urbina said this week, after ordering 17 detainees of Guantanamo Bay Prison to be released.

Guantanamo Bay Prison is located in an area of Cuba that the U.S. controls. Captured foreign nationals from the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 have been imprisoned here. These prisoners did not receive due process, thus, creating an issue that has been debated for the last few years.

The Constitution says that all U.S. prisoners have the privilege of Habeas Corpus, or a fair trial. President Bush, however, said that Guantanamo Bay Prison is in Cuba, so U.S. law does not apply there. It can also be concluded that the President believes these prisoners should not receive due process because the "perilous times" that we face create an entirely different factor and we must bend the rules a bit in order to protect our country.

In AS class, we are discussing under what condition a leader's authority should be extended during perilous times. There are many Americans who believe that Bush acted correctly by extending his power in this situation, and there are many Americans who are outraged. I believe that Judge Urbina said it right, however, when he stated that it is time for the court to "...shine the light of constitutionality on the reasons for detention."

Constitutionality...

The U.S. Constitution was created as the ultimate check and balance system for our country. It is a set of rules that creates limits for our country's actions, so that we may always maintain a democracy. When a leader, like President Bush, extends his power over the Constitution like this, it gives an alternative idea to the prompt, "Under what condition should a leader's authority be extended during perilous times?" Instead of answering under what condition should power be extended, this situation offers an additional idea: The limits of power extension.

The release of the 17 detainees of Guantanamo Bay Prison shows that a leader's authority must only be extended during perilous times until it changes our form of government. By denying the Constitution, we are denying our democracy. Because Bush extended his power over our Constitution, he has crossed the line of power limitation.