Indefinite detentions: Federal judge does the right thing

A federal judge in New York Wednesday blocked enforcement of a provision of a new anti-terror law that authorizes indefinite military detention for those deemed to have "substantially supported" al-Qaida, the Taliban or "associated forces."

District Judge Katherine Forrest found for a group of civilian activists and journalists who said they feared being detained under the law, signed by President Obama last December.

The judge said the law must be reconsidered so that "ordinary citizens are able to understand the scope of conduct that could subject them to indefinite military detention."

Judge Forrest's preliminary injunction prevents the government from enforcing section 1021 of the National Defense Authorization Act's "Homeland Battlefield" provisions, Reuters reports. During day-long oral arguments in March, Judge Forrest heard lawyers for former New York Times war correspondent and Pulitzer Prize-winner Chris Hedges and others argue the law would have a "chilling effect" on their work.

"Can Hedges and others be detained for contacting al-Qaida or the Taliban as reporters?" Judge Forrest asked the government at the hearing. The judge said she was worried by the government's reluctance to specify whether examples of the plaintiffs' activities - such as aiding the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks in the case of a member of parliament in Iceland - would fall under the scope of the provision.

That "requires the court to assume that, in fact, the government takes the position that a wide swath of expressive and associational conduct is in fact encompassed by 1021," she wrote.

The Constitution guarantees American citizens their government cannot lock them up - certainly not "indefinitely" - without due-process safeguards. That makes this law unconstitutional on its face. And it certainly is chilling that the government won't even vow not to use the act to go after reporters trying to cover both sides of a story.

Yes, there are legitimate concerns that violent organizations may be receiving aid and comfort. The government must keep an eye on such activities, prosecuting law-breakers. But the Bill of Rights takes precedence.

Judge Forrest did the right thing.