Boumediene v. Bush

Boumediene v. Bush, 553 U.S. 723 (2008), is a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court.

Lakhdar Boumediene and other foreign nationals captured abroad were detained at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as enemy combatants. Congress passed the Military Commissions Act of 2006, which stripped federal courts of jurisdiction to hear habeas petitions from Guantanamo detainees. Boumediene challenged the statute as violating the Suspension Clause.

Significance

Justice Kennedy’s 5-4 opinion held that the Suspension Clause of the Constitution applies to Guantanamo Bay and that the Military Commissions Act unconstitutionally suspended the writ of habeas corpus. The Court found that the detainees had no adequate substitute for habeas corpus and were entitled to challenge the legality of their detention in federal court. The decision was a major rebuke to the Bush administration’s detention policies and affirmed that constitutional protections extend to the Guantanamo Bay naval base.

Category

US Federal Case Law