NDAA unconstitutional: Federal judge bans Obama from indefinitely detaining Americans

[ProSense]

86. The Obama administration

made an argument that the challenge to the case, but the judge struck down Congress' interpretation.

The Obama administration had asked Judge Forrest to reconsider her ruling, saying that the plaintiffs lacked legal standing to challenge the law and that it was “extraordinary” for her to have restrained future military operations that might be ordered by the commander in chief during wartime.

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In section 1021, Congress laid out its interpretation of the extent of the military’s authority to hold people without trial, as detailed in its approval — a decade earlier — of military force shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks.

One provision of the statute, which Judge Forrest’s order did not block, said that authorization covered the detention of the perpetrators of the Sept. 11 attacks and those who assisted in them.

But another provision, which she did block, said it also covered people who were part of or substantially supported Al Qaeda, the Taliban or associated forces engaged in hostilities against the United States or its allies.

Enactment of the statute was controversial, in part, because it did not lay out what conduct could lead to someone’s being detained, and because it was silent about whether it extended to American citizens and others arrested on United States soil.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/07/us/terrorism-detention-provision-is-blocked.html

The President had already signed off on a policy making Congress' interpretation void.

Federal Judge Blocks Indefinite Detention Provisions Of NDAA

A federal judge in Manhattan has blocked enforcement of provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which allow the government to place individuals they claim supported al Qaeda, the Taliban or “associated forces” in indefinite military detention.

“Before anyone should be subjected to the possibility ofindefinite military detention, the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment requires that individuals be able to understandwhat conduct might cause him or her to run afoul of [the law],” wrote District Judge Katherine Forrest. “Unfortunately, there are a number of terms that are sufficientlyvague that no ordinary citizen can reliably define such conduct.”

Forrest ruled that Congress “can add definitional language to the statute and resolve the issues the plaintiffs have raised” and “resolve the issues with the statute and proceed with enforcement activities it deems fit.” But for now, there are “a variety of other statutes which can be utilized to detain those engaged in various levels of support of terrorists,” so enjoining enforcement of the provisions “does not divest the Government of its many other tools.”

President Barack Obama signed the law in December despite his objections to the military detention provisions of the statute. The administration later issued guidelines in February which essentially made it nearly impossible for a terrorism suspect to end up in the hands of the military.

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http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entries/federal-judge-blocks-indefinite-detention-provisions-of-ndaa

It's also a good thing the judge wasn't a Bush holdover.

Katherine Forrest was nominated by President Obama in May 2011. She was confirmed in October.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katherine_B._Forrest