The Second US Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the government may not arrest US Citizens and hold them as “enemy combatants” without charge and without access to an attorney. The government will of course appeal; it’ll end up in front of SCOTUS before it’s all over, but this ruling is encouraging.

(Update) It’s like a one-two punch for the Constitution! The 9th Circuit ruled today that the Gitmo prisoners could have access to lawyers and the courts as well.

Speaking for the court, Justice Stephen Reinhardt said:

Even in times of national emergency –indeed, particularly in such times — it is the obligation of the Judicial Branch to ensure the preservation of our constitutional values and to prevent the Executive Branch from running roughshod over the rights of citizens and aliens alike,” Judge Stephen Reinhardt wrote for the majority.