Christopher Shays: “although I have some reservations, I support this legislation and appreciate it being brought up for consideration. On…”

“although I have some reservations, I support this legislation and appreciate it being brought up for consideration. On June 29, 2006, the Supreme Court ruled 5-3 in the case of Hamdan v. Rumsfeld that the Bush administration lacked the authority to take the ``extraordinary measure'' of scheduling special military trials for inmates, in which defendants have fewer legal protections than in civilian U.S. courts. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens recommended Congress authorize a trial system closely based on our military's court-martial process. I am pleased that is what we are doing today. It is a testament to our system of government that the highest court has given us guidance in properly administering justice to these terrorism suspects. We should bring detainees to trial with protections similar to military courts. This will guarantee the trials are honest, fair and impartial and that justice is done. I recognize there are certain areas in which the tribunal system we are authorizing must deviate from a traditional court-martial and in my judgment this bill handles those differences in a fair and just manner. On September 19, 2006, along with several of my Republican colleagues, I wrote to Majority Leader Boehner urging him to bring a bill to the floor that ensures the United States remains fully committed to the Geneva Convention.”