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Executive Power & National Security
Boumediene v. Bush
Decided: 2008
In brief
Held that Guantanamo detainees have a constitutional right to habeas corpus review in federal court.
The Court's ruling in depth
The Court held that noncitizen detainees at Guantanamo Bay possess the constitutional privilege of habeas corpus, and that the Military Commissions Act's substitute procedures were an inadequate replacement. Justice Kennedy's opinion emphasized that the political branches cannot 'switch the Constitution on or off at will.' Boumediene is the most significant separation-of-powers ruling of the post-9/11 era.