« Identity standards = police state? | Main | "I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a cheeseburger today" dept. »

Habeas corpus

From Daily Kos: an interesting exchange between Arlen Specter and Alberto Gonzales:

Specter: Now wait a minute, wait a minute. The Constitution says you can't take it away except in the case of invasion or rebellion. Doesn't that mean you have the right of habeas corpus?

Gonzales: I meant by that comment that the Constitution doesn't say that every individual in the United States or every citizen has or is assured the right of habeas corpus. It doesn't say that. It simply says that the right of habeas corpus shall not be suspended.

Okay, legal eagles, here's a question... is Gonzales actually correct? I ask because I checked the language of the constitution, and it says

The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it.

It says privilege, not right.I want it to be a considered perceived as a right, obviously; I'm just concerned about the semantics here.

jon posted this at 9:49 PM
Share on Facebook| email to a friend

 Subscribe to RSS feed for Weblogsky