June 28, 2003
Judicial Filibusters
The senate is confirming folks like Nathan Chertoff for judicial positions 88-1. From Nate Hentoff:
In his book After, Steve Brill, based on his sources, reports that in the strategy sessions at the Justice Department, Chertoff, agreeing that the detainees should be held for long periods of questioning, said that even if some got a hearing, "the hearings could not only be done in secret, but also could be delayed, and that even after the hearings were held and they were ordered deported [usually for only minor immigration violations], there was nothing in the law that said they absolutely had to be deported immediately. They could be held still longer."Yea, I know what follows isn't perfect logic. However, if this guy with such callous views of our rights is so easily approved then imagine just how bad the ones currently being filibustered must be.As for the detainees' right to contact lawyers, Chertoff and the others in the room, reports Brill, knew that under INS rules, the prisoners "were entitled to call a lawyer from jail, but the lists the INS provided of available lawyers invariably had phone numbers that were not in service." (Emphasis added.)
Via Talkleft. Posted by Steve on June 28, 2003
