Specter loses fight for suspects' rights
WASHINGTON -- True to his reputation as a Republican maverick, Sen. Arlen Specter on Thursday was out front defending the right of suspected terrorists to file court challenges to their detention.
Only three Republicans sided with Specter (R-Pa.) as the Senate voted 51-48 against an amendment by him that would have allowed terror suspects to file habeas corpus petitions in court. Specter contends the ability to file such pleas is considered a fundamental legal right and is necessary to uncover abuse.
Others in the GOP caucus said providing terror suspects the right to unlimited appeals weighs down the court system.
''This is a constitutional requirement and it is fundamental that Congress not legislate contradiction to a constitutional interpretation of the Supreme Court,'' Specter said.
After the Senate rejected Specter's amendment, he voted in favor of the bill passed Thursday to create military commissions to prosecute terrorism suspects and prohibit blatant abuses of detainees.
Specter, 76, has challenged the Bush administration before. A cancer survivor and abortion rights supporter, he has fought to expand funding for embryonic stem cell research. He was also one of the first Republicans to publicly question Bush's warrantless surveillance program. AP