Statement of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold On the Supreme Court’s Decision on the Habeas Rights of Detainees June 12, 2008 “Today’s Supreme Court decision is yet another stinging rebuke of the Bush administration’s extreme views on executive power. Time after time, the Supreme Court has rebuffed the administration’s attempts to undermine the Constitution, from its Rasul and Hamdi decisions in 2004 to its Hamdan decision in 2006. It is a testament to our system of government that the Court has rejected the habeas-stripping provisions of the Military Commissions Act and reaffirmed that the government does not have the power to detain people indefinitely and arbitrarily without judicial review. The writ of habeas corpus provides one of the most significant protections of human freedom against arbitrary government action ever created. We can and must fight terrorists without abandoning the principles on which our country was founded.” Senator Feingold is a member of the Senate Intelligence, Judiciary and Foreign Relations Committees. In 2006, Senator Feingold opposed the Military Commissions Act (S. 3930).

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