U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest of New York City temporarily halted any arrests or detentions that would take place under the terms of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which took effect on July 1.
In a 68-page opinion, Judge Forrest wrote, while she only enjoined the law “with great caution,” the government had “a strong public interest in ensuring that due process rights guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment are protected by ensuring that ordinary citizens are able to understand the scope of conduct that could subject them to indefinite military detention.”
“It is the responsibility of our judicial system to protect the public from acts of Congress that infringe upon constitutional rights,” Judge Forrest wrote.
The NDAA, which President Barack Obama signed last December 31, allows the president to hold enemy combatants in military detention facilities without trial until the end of hostilities, if the person “substantially supported al-Qaeda, the Taliban, or associated forces that are engaged in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners.”
Read more.