Supreme Court Questions Military Trials

[tocqueville]

By GINA HOLLAND, Associated Press Writer
16 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Supreme Court justices appeared troubled Tuesday by President Bush's plans to hold war-crimes trials for foreigners held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

And several seemed outraged by the government's claim that a new law had stripped the high court of authority to hear a case brought by Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a Yemeni who once worked as a driver for Osama bin Laden.

Hamdan has spent nearly four years in the U.S. prison at Guantanamo, and the Supreme Court has been asked to decide if he can be put on trial with fewer legal protections before a type of military tribunal last used in the World War II-era.

The appeal could set the stage for a landmark ruling, and the courtroom atmosphere was tense

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060328/ap_on_go_su_co/scotus_guantanamo_trials_6