The Supreme Court 2003 Term: Summary and Analysis of Opinions Related to Detainees in the War on Terrorism

RS21884 -- The Supreme Court 2003 Term: Summary and Analysis of Opinions Related to Detainees in the War on Terrorism

July 12, 2004

Summary

The Supreme Court's decisions in Rasul, Hamdi, and Padilla affirm the President's power to detain enemy combatants as part of the necessary force authorized by Congress after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, but approved a more limited scope of that authority than the President had asserted, and clarified that detainees have due process rights under the Constitution. For more, see CRS Report RL31367, Treatment of 'Battlefield Detainees' in the War on Terrorism, and CRS Report RL31724, Detention of American Citizens as Enemy Combatants.