Democrats’ bill would let detainees access U.S. courts

WASHINGTON – A group of Senate Democrats introduced legislation Tuesday that would restore habeas corpus rights to all detainees in U.S. custody and narrowly define what it means to be an “enemy combatant” against the United States, a measure designed to challenge laws ushered in by a Republican-controlled Congress last year.

The bill, titled the Restoring the Constitution Act of 2007, strikes at the core of the Military Commissions Act of 2006 by giving detainees access to U.S. courts. It was introduced by Sen. Christopher Dodd, of Connecticut, a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination.

The bill would also prevent the executive branch from making blanket determinations about who is an enemy combatant and would restrict the president’s authority to interpret when certain human rights standards apply to detainees.

The legislation would limit the label “enemy combatant” to a person “who directly participates in hostilities in a zone of active combat against the United States” or who took part in the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.