Public Ethics Radio: Larry May on Habeas Corpus
Public Ethics Radio (Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics, and Carnegie Council)
Larry May, Christian Barry, Matt Peterson
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
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Are habeas corpus petitions, as Barack Obama put it, "the foundation of Anglo-American law"? Or are they just nuisance lawsuits, "whether it be about the diet, whether it be about the reading material," that will just slow down the legal system and leave us "bollixed up," as John McCain claims?
May distinguishes between a minimalist and maximalist sense of habeas corpus. As it's practiced in the U.S. today in the maximalist sense, a habeas corpus petition is essentially any constitutional challenge a prisoner may file against his imprisonment. Indeed, most death row litigation falls under habeas corpus. In the minimalist sense, the right to habeas corpus simply entitles the prisoner to appear in court and have the charges read against her, whereupon she may be immediately returned to prison.
The protection the minimalist right offers is limited. And yet, as May points out, even this more basic meaning of habeas is being denied at Guantanamo, where prisoners have languished for years without even facing charges. In PER episode 4, Christian Barry talks to Larry May about the meaning of habeas, the reasons governments have to deny it, and how we can best protect the right. In this episode of Public Ethics Radio, we turn to Professor Larry May for answers.
- Public Ethics Radio: Larry May on Habeas Corpus (Transcript)
Read More: Human Rights, Human Rights, International Law, United States
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