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American Morning

Supreme Court Test

Aired November 11, 2003 - 07:14   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: In the biggest test yet of the Bush administration's sweeping antiterrorism policies, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear two appeals over whether hundreds of detainees at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba are being held unlawfully.
Here's national correspondent Bob Franken.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Arguments in these cases will be limited to whether the United States courts have jurisdiction over the detention of foreign nationals captured abroad and incarcerated at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba.

THOMAS GOLDSTEIN, CONSTITUTIONAL LAW EXPERT: So far, the federal courts have said that when we capture somebody overseas, that's the business of the president and the Army. It's not the business of the courts. But that could change with this case.

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: I would characterize Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as the least worst place we could have selected.

FRANKEN: Lower courts have agreed with the Bush administration that the detainees held that the least worst place, Guantanamo Bay, are not subject to U.S. judicial review, since the Navy base is on sovereign Cuban territory.

JOHN ASHCROFT, ATTORNEY GENERAL: They're not in the judicial testimony. These people are detained as a part of the waging of the war by the president of the United States.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Supreme Court will decide...

FRANKEN: The two cases involve prisoners from Britain, Australia and Kuwait, among the 600-plus whose treatment has been hotly controversial around the world.

MICHAEL RATNER, DETAINEES ATTORNEY: They've essentially had the key thrown away, no rights to an attorney, no right to counsel, no right to a court hearing.

FRANKEN (on camera): The justices will hear the administration argue that the treatment and isolation of the detainees are necessary for their interrogation.

Bob Franken, CNN, the Supreme Court.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: The decision marks the first time that the Supreme Court has agreed to review the constitutionality of the White House's war on terror laws. That has grown since the September 11 attacks.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.






Aired November 11, 2003 - 07:14   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: In the biggest test yet of the Bush administration's sweeping antiterrorism policies, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear two appeals over whether hundreds of detainees at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba are being held unlawfully.
Here's national correspondent Bob Franken.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Arguments in these cases will be limited to whether the United States courts have jurisdiction over the detention of foreign nationals captured abroad and incarcerated at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba.

THOMAS GOLDSTEIN, CONSTITUTIONAL LAW EXPERT: So far, the federal courts have said that when we capture somebody overseas, that's the business of the president and the Army. It's not the business of the courts. But that could change with this case.

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: I would characterize Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as the least worst place we could have selected.

FRANKEN: Lower courts have agreed with the Bush administration that the detainees held that the least worst place, Guantanamo Bay, are not subject to U.S. judicial review, since the Navy base is on sovereign Cuban territory.

JOHN ASHCROFT, ATTORNEY GENERAL: They're not in the judicial testimony. These people are detained as a part of the waging of the war by the president of the United States.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Supreme Court will decide...

FRANKEN: The two cases involve prisoners from Britain, Australia and Kuwait, among the 600-plus whose treatment has been hotly controversial around the world.

MICHAEL RATNER, DETAINEES ATTORNEY: They've essentially had the key thrown away, no rights to an attorney, no right to counsel, no right to a court hearing.

FRANKEN (on camera): The justices will hear the administration argue that the treatment and isolation of the detainees are necessary for their interrogation.

Bob Franken, CNN, the Supreme Court.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: The decision marks the first time that the Supreme Court has agreed to review the constitutionality of the White House's war on terror laws. That has grown since the September 11 attacks.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.