Criminal Justice Ethics in the U.S.

If terrorists are granted the same civil liberties, such as the right to trial, as Americans have, should they be required to pay taxes too? While Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution states, "The privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it" and under this provision, persons detained by the government are entitled to a judicial hearing to determine if there is any legal basis for their detention; I believe "enemy combatants" and terrorists should not be entitled to the Writ of Habeas Corpus and the same civil liberties as law-abiding U.S. citizens are entitled to because national-security is a top priority for the U.S. and individuals that are suspected of terrorism plan to rebel against or invade our nation, suspected terrorists are detained, interrogated, and sent to trial outside of the United States, and as of current, most individuals suspected of terrorism have not been detained indefinitely and have been released without charges or turned over to other governments.
A general background and understanding of the right of Habeas Corpus is necessary to determine whether enemy combatants should be entitled to its protection of civil liberties. Habeas Corpus is a “writ directed by a judge to some person who is detaining another, commanding him to bring the body of the person in his custody at a specified time to a specified place for a specified purpose. The writ 's sole function is to release an individual from unlawful imprisonment; through this use it has come to be regarded as the great writ of liberty. The writ tests only whether a prisoner has been accorded due process, not whether he is guilty” (2011). In other words, the Writ of Habeas Corpus stands for the idea that no one should be constrained against their will without a judge supervising the constraint and assuring that it is in accordance to the law. This was a big deal 300 or 400 years ago when

References: Foner, E. (n.d.). Lincoln’s abuse of the presidential power. Retrieved January 3rd, 2013, from http://www.5min.com/Video/Lincolns-Abuse-of-the-Presidential-Power-294084084. (2011). Habeas corpus. Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia (6th ed.), 1. Retrieved January 3rd, 2013, from Academic Search Premier (EBSCOhost) database, in the Ashford Online Library. Halliday, P. (2011, March 17). Habeas corpus: From England to Empire. Available from http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/298560-5. Levin-Waldman, O. M. (2012). American government. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Retrieved January 3rd, 2013, from https://content.ashford.edu/books/AUPOL201.12.1/sections/sec5.7.