City Bar Petitions U.S. Supreme Court
To Grant Padilla Right to Due Process

Amicus Brief Challenges President’s Authority
To Seize a U.S. Citizen On American Soil for Indefinite Detention

The Association of the Bar of the City of New York filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in Padilla v. Rumsfeld, the case involving an American citizen seized on American soil and held indefinitely by the Executive as an “enemy combatant.” The Association argues that Padilla has substantial and procedural due process rights, which he should be allowed to pursue with the assistance of counsel, and that an examination of the rights and interests asserted in this case by both sides supports the holding of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals that the President has exceeded his authority in this case.

“While it fully understands the importance of preventing future acts of terrorism,” the Association expresses its belief “that the President’s actions in this and similar cases are dangerously eroding civil liberties and the efficacy” of the right to petition for freedom through the Writ of Habeas Corpus. The Association argues that the Supreme Court should not pass on the scope of the President’s power to seize and detain Padilla without evaluating the President’s actions in light of Padilla’s competing constitutional rights to individual liberty and to petition for habeas relief.

The brief then analyzes the President’s asserted justifications for seizing and indefinitely detaining Padilla, and finds that they conflict with Padilla’s substantive and procedural due process rights.

The 37-page brief was filed in U.S. Supreme Court on April 12 by the Association of the Bar, joined by the New York Council of Defense Lawyers and the American Jewish Committee. Copies may be downloaded from the Association’s website at ((www.nycbar.org))

The Association of the Bar of the City of New York is a professional association of nearly 22,000 attorneys. Founded in 1870, ABCNY has long been committed to studying, addressing, and promoting the rule of law and, when appropriate, law reform. Through its many standing committees, ABCNY educates the bar and public about current issues arising in connection with the war on terrorism, the pursuit of suspected terrorists, and the treatment of detainees. While it fully understands the importance of preventing future acts of terrorism, ABCNY believes that the president’s actions in this and similar cases are dangerously eroding civil liberties and the efficacy of the habeas remedy.

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