Noriega v. Pastrana: The Supreme Court Takes a Step Back from the Table

Abstract

The Military Commissions Act of 2006 expressly removed the Geneva Conventions as a source of rights for any person litigating against the United States or its agents. For General Manuel Noriega, the Geneva Conventions provided him with his sole opportunity for relief from what is, in his opinion, a grave injustice; without it, he has no hope of returning to his home country any time in the near future. Thus, Noriega petitioned the Supreme Court and asked the Court to find this restriction to be an unconstitutional suspension of the writ of habeas corpus. To perform this analysis, the Supreme Court would have had to delve into territory previously unexplored and narrowly avoided. Ultimately, the Court declined to accept certiorari, over a strong objection by Justice Thomas, joined by Justice Scalia. This Comment argues that the Supreme Court has avoided the issue long enough, and should have settled the matter once and for all by accepting General Noriega’s challenge.