by Frank James
Today’s Supreme Court’s rare decision to reverse itself and to hear the habeas claim of Guantamo detainees caps what has been a very bad week for President Bush which included the death of the his immigration bill in the Senate, and Senate allies parting company with him on Iraq policy.
This is part of the report on the Supreme Court move by the Los Angeles Time’s David Savage:
The Supreme Court itself said three years ago that the government could indefinitely hold “enemy combatants,” but only if they were given a fair hearing before a neutral judge.
Since then, little has changed for the 375 detainees, except that Congress moved a year ago to deny them a right to take their claims to court.
In April, the high court turned down a new appeal from prisoners.
But before adjourning today for its summer recess, the court announced it had changed its mind and agreed to hear the case in the fall.
Court personnel said it appeared to be the first time in 60 years that the justices had denied an appeal petition and then voted to reconsider the decision and hear the matter…
The week wasn’t unremittingly bad for Bush. For instance, the same Supreme Court that went against the administration today did rule for the administration’s faith-based initiative, saying that taxpayers lacked standing to contest the spending of taxpayer money on the executive-branch program.
But this wasn’t the kind of week that builds a president’s confidence as he heads into a weekend where he has to play host to Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kennebunkport, Maine home of former President George H.W. Bush.
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