harold66, Scalia starts from the premise that he doesn't buy the decisions that essentially decide this case. That's his privilege, of course, but it's not particularly good legal reasoning.

I'm not an expert in habeas, but it's hard for me to figure how Rasul and Hamdan don't lead directly to this decision. Once the court decided that Guantanamo was effectively U.S. territory, the Constitution ought to apply and it's difficult to find room in the habeas provision for suspension as to these particular prisoners.

One thing I think is apparent here, in any event, is that the majority choked on the notion that they should permit a process that involves secret evidence that the prisoners can't see, no real counsel, no opportunity to present rebuttal evidence and, as if this weren't bad enough, the chance for the government to try again if it doesn't convince its hand-picked tribunal the first time around. It's like something out of Kafka or the Soviet Union and, truth be told, the most frightening thing about it as far as I'm concerned is that both the Administration and Congress were okay with it.