New York, NY, June 28, 2004 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today welcomed the Supreme Court's decisions that detainees of the U.S. government have the right to due process.  Winning the war on terror requires the full engagement of all three branches of the federal government in order to develop a strong and constitutional response to the unprecedented threats the country has faced since the terrible events of September 11, 2001.   ADL believes that the Court's decision will facilitate efforts to address these threats by providing a clear legal framework for the other branches to work within.
 
"We see this decision as proof that our Constitutional system is clearly capable of effectively balancing the threat of terrorism with the need to uphold the rule of law," said Barbara B. Balser, ADL National Chair, and Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director.  "After two years of working valiantly in uncharted territory, we believe the struggle against terrorism can now begin its next phase. This guidance from the Court will help Congress and the executive branch go forward even more effectively with the war on terror because the appropriate boundaries of law have been made clearer."

The decisions are Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, Rasul v. Bush and Al Odah v. United States. ADL had joined an amicus brief in support of detainees’ rights to due process in Rasul and Odah.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.