Scalia Speaks Out
Speaking to students at Freiberg University in Germany, Justice Antonin Scalia raised a few eyebrows.
Here's the gist of what he said:
Posted Monday, March 27, 2006 10:21 PM
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"War is war, and it has never been the case that when you captured a combatant you have to give them a jury trial in your civil courts," he says on a tape of the talk reviewed by NEWSWEEK. "Give me a break." Challenged by one audience member about whether the Gitmo detainees don't have protections under the Geneva or human-rights conventions, Scalia shot back: "If he was captured by my army on a battlefield, that is where he belongs. I had a son on that battlefield and they were shooting at my son and I'm not about to give this man who was captured in a war a full jury trial. I mean it's crazy." Scalia was apparently referring to his son Matthew, who served with the U.S. Army in Iraq. Scalia did say, though, that he was concerned "there may be no end to this war."Quite frankly, the thought of granting battlefield combatants rights to a trial is about as stupid a notion as I've ever heard. The people suggesting this should be laughed at, scorned and treated like the subversives that they are.
"This is clearly grounds for recusal," said Michael Ratner of the Center for Constitutional Rights, a human-rights group that has filed a brief in behalf of the Gitmo detainees. "I can't recall an instance where I've heard a judge speak so openly about a case that's in front of him, without hearing the arguments."Mr. Ratner isn't just a subversive. He's also an idiot. Ridicule him as much as you want. He's earned it.
Posted Monday, March 27, 2006 10:21 PM
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