Breyer: Court Must Balance Security and Civil Liberties
Justice Stephen G. Breyer told law students yesterday that the U.S. Supreme Court is the “border guard” protecting the line between security and civil liberties.
Speaking at the University of Oklahoma College of Law, Breyer said justices have to strike a balance in cases such as the ones testing the rights of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, the Norman Transcript reports.
The court heard oral arguments in December in a pending Guantanamo case, Boumediene v. Bush, that contends detainees have a right to challenge their detention through federal habeas actions. In 2006, the court struck down the military commission system because President Bush had acted without congressional authorization.
Breyer said judges here and in other nations are struggling to preserve the rights of accused terrorists while also protecting the public, the Associated Press reports.
The public and U.S. officials have come to accept the court’s authority over the years, even if they disagree with its decisions, Breyer said. As an example, he cited the court’s controversial decision in Bush v. Gore ending electoral challenges against George W. Bush.
“The day after that came down, people said, ‘OK, we disagree with that,’ … but [there was] virtually no difference of opinion about what should be done. We’ll follow it,” Breyer said.
