Supreme Court Blocks Guantánamo
Tribunals .....

By John
O'Neil & Scott Shane

Published:
June 29, 2006

The Supreme
Court today delivered a sweeping rebuke to the Bush administration, ruling
that it exceeded its authority by creating tribunals for terror suspects
that fell short of the legal protections that Congress has traditionally
required in military courts.

As a result, the court said in a 5-to-3 ruling, the tribunals violated
both American military law and the military's obligations under the Geneva
Conventions.

The court
ruled two years ago that Congress had not given the executive branch a
"blank check" in the war on terror. But today's ruling, written
by Justice John Paul Stevens, was the first to address the standards that
should apply to suspects held in what has become a prolonged struggle.

It was also
the most significant rebuff to date to President Bush's effort to expand
presidential power in the course of waging that struggle. And the
reasoning adopted by the majority called into question the justification
Mr. Bush has used for other programs that have come under Congressional
scrutiny, like the warrantless wiretapping conducted by the National
Security Agency.