do terrorist have due process if arrested in the u.s??

Question

i need to know if a terrorist is arrested in hte U.S do they have do process? Why or Why not??

Answer 1

they will be dispatched to Guantanamo where the us laws can not be applied in those poor people.

Answer 2

Terrorists are considered enemy combatants and therefore not entitled to due process but, rather, to military tribunal. If a citizen is arrested for terrorist activity, they are given due process.

There is no good reason to give due process to a terrorist.

Answer 3

It depends on the circumstances of capture.

If they were _arrested_ on US soil then they get the full due process as per the US Constitution.

If they were captured in the course of US military operations then they would get a quick tribunal to determine if the met the Hauge rules as a lawful combatant. What happens to them after that is determined on the tribunal’s conclusions. If they are determined to have met the legal requirements for combatant status then they are classified as POWs and handled per the rules for POWs in Geneva III. If they do not meet the legal requirements to be granted combatant status then their status becomes very murky.

Technically under international law all we have to do is hold an informal trial and then we are allowed to shoot those who are determined to be unlawful combatants.

US policy however, is to apply the Geneva III rules for civilian detainees and treat them as civilians captured on the battlefield. As such the US is entitled to hold them for the duration of the conflict without a trial. We are in the process of determining which of those detainees we hold have committed actual 'war crimes' and have developed a tribunal process that balances justice with the need for wartime security.

The confusion about the US being required to grant all of the detainee’s trials results from an (IMO deliberate) misunderstanding of Geneva III. According to Geneva III the occupying country is responsible for enforcing law and order and is required to have a trial process for any common criminals arrested for 'civil' crimes (robbery, theft, rape etc.). The thing to note is that these are not people fighting a military force - they are merely common criminals.

Trivia note: the Australian citizen being held at Gitmo was a mercenary - and as such is exempted from any and all protections granted by the Laws and Customs of War.

Answer 4

Yes, but it could be a limited due process if information was gathered from secret sources or via national security methods. Because those sources cannot be revealed, defense will have limited discovery.

Most likely a foreigner will be subject to the Military Commissions Act, and will be subject to military tribunal rather than public court trial. Same may be true for a US citizen.

All this is covered in the Military Commissions Act 2006.

Answer 5

Technically they wouldn't be terrorists until tried and convicted of a terrorism offence. Innocent until proven guilty is the bedrock of our legal system and has been for centuries. We discard that principal at our peril.

If a person is arrested in the US (or indeed any other country) on terrorism charges, it behoves is to give that person a fair and open trial. If we locked them up without trial, or even worse summarily executed them, it would serve to incite others to take up arms against us, and the terrorism threat would only increase. We won't win any war on terrorism is we stoop to their level.

Answer 6

Yes. The constitution says ALL people in the US are entitled to due process. It does not specify citizens. That's why the terrorists captured in Afghanistan are not brought into the US.

Answer 7

Good question. I would hope not but then, I don't hold true these things when they are not a citizen of the US and a terrorist is a threat to the US.

I guess they really would because the US is one (if not the only country) to uphold to it's laws.

Answer 8

If they are terrorists as you call them, then it is not even important what kind of process they have, they will and should be punished; however, you might ask if the people that get arrested are really terrorists? I bet some of them are not.

Answer 9

With the Patriot Act and the declared War On Terror, they will be granted the rights established by the Genneva Convention, not our constitution. They will have their due process, butnot the same that you know as an american.

Answer 10

They can be arrested as an enemy combatant - and can also have their citizen taken away if they are a citizen at which point they are not entitled to any rights to this county and no rights under international law.

Answer 11

they do because we are a fair nation. even if i think this is stupid(in the case of terrorists) we are fair. if we dont treat them like any other criminal(court-wise) then they can appeal(again, using our system) and maybe their conviction can be turned around(that would suck). so let them have the du process, we gonna convict them anyways.