[Peace-discuss] Doe v. Bush Before Court Again

[Charles Jenks]

The most recent court filing is available at
http://traprockpeace.org/LegRefil.pdf (pdf file) and at
http://traprockpeace.org/LegRefil.doc (Word file)

*******************************************

CONTACTS:    Justin Kazmark (646) 495-4960
    justin at andymorrisandcompany.com
    Andy Morris (646) 495-4958
    andy at andymorrisandcompany.com
John Bonifaz (attorney), (617) 524-2675 or (617) 529-4611 (cell)
    Charles Richardson and Nancy Lessin (parent plaintiffs), (617) 522-9323,
(617) 320-5301 (cell), (508) 277-9466 (cell)

DATE:    March 17, 2003

FOR RELEASE:    Immediate


COURT CHALLENGE TO BUSH STILL ALIVE

BUSH¹S ³MOMENT OF TRUTH² COMES TO FEDERAL COURT


Last Week¹s Court of Appeals Ruling Opens Door To Judicial Intervention In
War Against Iraq 

-- Plaintiffs Resubmitting Suit Today Because Conditions Are ³Ripe² --


Boston ­ The lawsuit filed by active-duty U.S. soldiers, parents of U.S.
soldiers and 12 Members of Congress to prevent the President from waging war
against Iraq without a formal Declaration of War by Congress will resubmit
the case today.  The case will again go before the same three-judge panel of
the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that dismissed the case on Thursday
last week on ³ripeness² grounds ­ essentially saying the timing was not
right for it to get involved.

³The case is very much alive,² said John Bonifaz, lead attorney for the
plaintiffs.  ³We are not going to wait until the bombs fall.  If the
President moves us closer to war without U.N. authorization, this case will
be ripe for the court¹s review and will demand judicial intervention to
prevent an unjust and unconstitutional war.²

While the Doe v. Bush case was dismissed by a federal appeals court on
Thursday, the three-judge panel gave the plaintiffs a ³partial victory² by
making it clear they would be open to looking at the issues again should
President Bush order an invasion of Iraq without the authorization of the
United Nations.  The lawsuit challenges the President¹s authority to wage
war in Iraq without a Congressional Declaration of War, as required by the
Constitution in Article I, Section 8.

This case should be of ³major concern² to the Bush Administration and could
slow the timing for an invasion of Iraq should President Bush try to proceed
without the authorization of the United Nations, said law professors who
studied the 30-page opinion Friday.

³The First Circuit Court decision is important precisely because it turns on
the ripeness of the claim.  The court gives every indication that it is
taking the plaintiffs¹ case seriously but that are not yet ready for
adjudication.  The court leaves open for consideration whether the President
actually has power to declare war absent specific Congressional action.  It
is interesting that they did not find that the plaintiff lacked standing or
that the whole case is a political question.  Rather, the court emphasized
that it is not ripe so the wheel is still very much in spin,² said Jamin
Raskin, a law professor at the Washington College of Law at American
University in Washington, D.C.

If the court were then to grant the request for an injunction preventing the
President from invading Iraq absent further action by Congress, the issue
will be thrown to Congress to vote up or down on whether to go to war
without U.N. authorization.  Such a decision could delay the start of the
war or even force the Bush Administration to wait until it has U.N. backing,
should that be the decision of the Congress.

The fact the lawsuit is still alive hinges on an understanding of certain
esoteric legal doctrines.  The appeals court could have dismissed the case
on ³political question² grounds, as the lower trial court had.  This means
that the issues are so political that they would be best left to the
legislative and executive branches of government.  If the case had been
dismissed on these ³political question² grounds, it would have essentially
killed the lawsuit.

³According to Thursday¹s opinion, the Plaintiffs' claim will be ripe for
hearing as soon as it becomes clear Œthat the Security Council will not
authorize war, and that the President will proceed nonetheless.¹  Today we
seem to have arrived at that situation.  If the president wants to proceed
to war without U.N. approval, and without being delayed by proceedings in a
federal court, he would be well-advised to obtain Congress' authorization of
an attack on Iraq,² said Nancy Lessin, one of the parent plaintiffs in the
case.

Those suing include a coalition of U.S. soldiers, parents of U.S. soldiers
from seven states, and 12 congress people.  Two weeks ago, the group won a
rare expedited review by the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston of a
lower-court dismissal.  The lawsuit was originally filed on February 13.
The lead plaintiffs are three U.S. soldiers, including a Marine currently
stationed in the Persian Gulf.

The U.S. Justice Department is representing President Bush and Defense
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, the named defendants.

*******************************
The above press release was written by Andy Morris and Co
(contact info above)

Up to Date information on the case with copies of legal filings may be found
at Military Families Speak Out http://www.mfso.org and
Traprock Peace Center http://traprockpeace.org

Charles Jenks
President, 
Traprock Peace Center - http://traprockpeace.org
charles at mtdata.com