Urgent: Call Your Senators Today and Ask Them to Support this Week’s Vote to Restore Habeas Corpus
When the President signed the Military Commissions Act of 2006, both he and the Congress that passed it effectively eliminated habeas rights for certain people and turned their backs on democratic values and the Constitution. Congress is finally taking action to reverse the damage done. Senators Leahy and Specter have offered S.A. 2022, an amendment to the defense authorization bill to restore the fundamental constitutional right of habeas corpus. The Senate will have its first up-or-down vote on restoring habeas corpus this week, as early as tomorrow. Inside sources say the vote will be close and many senators are undecided. Your senators need to know where constituents like you stand.
Act Now. Please call your senators and tell them to vote “YES” on amendment S.A. 2022 to the defense authorization bill >>
Learn more about habeas corpus >>
Take Action: Thank Senator Hatch for Standing Up to the White House
Since 2005, the Senate Judiciary Committee has asked the Bush administration respectfully and repeatedly for documents explaining the legal justification behind the National Security Agency’s program to spy on Americans. They’ve asked nine times. And they’ve been rebuffed nine times. Now they’re demanding the truth with the force of law. Senator Orrin Hatch voted to issue subpoenas compelling President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and the Justice Department to turn over documents that explain their flawed legal justification for spying on Americans without warrants. The deadline for the White House to comply is 2 p.m. this Wednesday.
On July 6, a disappointing federal court decision further insulated the administration’s warrantless spying program from judicial review and deprived Americans of the ability to challenge the illegal surveillance of their telephone calls and emails in court. But we must still demand answers from the White House. It is no easy task for members of Congress to stand up to any president by issuing subpoenas. Please, show your support for Senator Hatch, who stood up for democracy and voted to send subpoenas to the Bush administration.
Contact Senator Hatch >>
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ACLU Legal Director Steven Shapiro on the 2006 Supreme Court Term
Civil liberties took a beating as the Supreme Court ended its 2006 term last month by limiting the ability of local officials to address the problem of segregated schools, making it more difficult to challenge the use of taxpayer funds to promote religion, and restricting student free speech.
“The pendulum has swung fast and far,” said Steven R. Shapiro, the ACLU’s national Legal Director. “This has been a term in which the new conservative majority has flexed its muscle. It did not overrule any major constitutional decisions but it left many in shambles. The settled rules on race, religion, speech, abortion, and the right to sue have all been unsettled.”
Learn more about the Court’s civil liberties-related cases from this term and download the ACLU’s official wrap up >>
ACLU’s Day of Action a Success
On June 26, the ACLU, along with 85 partners, organized in Washington, D.C. for the first ever Day of Action to Restore Law and Justice. Armed with a petition containing more than 250,000 signatures, more than 4,000 people from across the nation (including Utah!) stormed Capitol Hill to demand that Congress restore habeas corpus and due process, end torture, close Guantanamo, and restore the Constitution.
The Day of Action is already paying off in real results, with key victories on the Hill and more in the works:
Since June 26th, 11 lawmakers have signed on as co-sponsors of critical habeas restoration bills. The list of co-sponsors continues to grow. We expect more activity and co-sponsors in the coming weeks as a result of action in D.C. and across the country.
Just three days after the rally, more than 140 representatives signed an open letter to President Bush urging him to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay.
Senator Leahy, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who spoke at the rally, promised to do everything he can to get a floor vote on restoring habeas corpus in the Senate in the coming weeks. You’ll be hearing from us with more details and a call to action whenever this happens.
Help keep the momentum going by contacting your members of Congress and letting them know that we will not rest until the Constitution is restored >>
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