"'Serious mistake' if car bombing suspect was Mirandized"

[unixronin]

So says John McCain of the attempted Times Square carbomber.  Because then we'd have to prosecute him through the criminal justice system and he'll have, like, rights and stuff, instead of treating him as an "enemy combatant".  Because we've just gotten SO MUCH vitally important intelligence out of all the "detainees" we've been storing indefinitely at Guantanamo.

Comments

[milktree.livejournal.com]

I used to really like McCain, but recently it seems like he's off his meds.

[perspicuity.livejournal.com]

well, ya know, they'd just disappear the person in question, and it wouldn't really matter about this Miranda chick.

#

[jhetley.livejournal.com]

Grump.

You know, McCain ought to know a bit about being a mistreated POW . . .

[jmkelly.livejournal.com]

That's just the tea talking.

[mrmeval.livejournal.com]

"Give"? That stupid evil cretin. No one gives me or any citizen any right.

[house-pundit.livejournal.com]

The solution, of course, is to pass legislation giving enemy combatants enumerated, limited rights. They do not have the rights of citizens, legal visitors, or illegal immigrants. They do not have the rights specified by law and treaty for enemy POWs.

First, if someone is detained, then make the government present a case, within a specified time frame, where a federal judge first determines whether an act of combat, either actual or conspiracy, occurred. Base this determination on probable cause.

Since this hearing is just to determine if there's probable cause that there was a combat event, not whether or not the detainee is guilty of it, he should have no right to be there.

Make it within 48 hours so you have that initial determination right away.

If the judge rules that an event (probably) occurred that is not combat but is a crime, then let the government Mirandize him at that time and dump him into the civil justice system.

Then give a detainee, within a certain time frame, a hearing before a military tribunal of sufficiently cleared persons whose sole job is to determine whether or not there's probable cause that the detainee committed the aforementioned act of combat. Give the detainee a military representative who has none of the access to evidence a defense lawyer has--the rep's sole job is to listen to the detainee, who won't be present at the tribunal hearing, and present his side of the story. Again, we're just determining probable cause.

From there, give the detainee, within a certain time frame, a trial before a tribunal in which the detainee has the right to speak in his own behalf but not otherwise be present at proceedings, and the detainee has a representative. The representative is a sufficiently cleared person who is empowered to see the government's evidence but is prohibited from sharing that evidence or anything about that evidence with the detainee.

[house-pundit.livejournal.com]

Combat is not crime. Crime is not combat.