Rights at Risk in Wartime

The terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, stunned the nation. As commander-in-chief, President George W. Bush responded quickly but soon all three branches of government would be embroiled in the struggle to balance national security with the protection of individual liberties amid a war on terror. This lesson plan is based on the Annenberg Classroom video “Habeas Corpus: The Guantanamo Cases.” The four cases are examples of how the Supreme Court, the president and Congress fought to balance national security and civil liberties during the war on terror. At the heart of each case was the constitutional right of habeas corpus, the right to have one’s detention or imprisonment reviewed in court.

Grades 9-12
Foundations of Democracy
Lesson Plans

Habeas Corpus: The Guantanamo Cases

One of our oldest human rights, habeas corpus safeguards individual freedom by preventing unlawful or arbitrary imprisonment. This documentary examines habeas corpus and the separation of powers in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks as the Supreme Court tried to strike a balance between the president’s duty to protect the nation and the constitutional protection of civil liberties in four major Guantanamo Bay cases: Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, Rasul v. Bush, Hamdan v. Rumsfeld and Boumediene v. Bush.
Closed captions available in English and Spanish.

Rasul v. Bush (2004)

Do U.S. courts have jurisdiction to consider legal appeals filed on behalf of foreign citizens held at Guantanamo? This case summary shows how the Supreme Court answered this question in 2004.

Grades 11, 12, 9, 10
Judicial Branch/Supreme Court
Research (Digests of Primary Sources)

Rumsfeld v. Padilla (2004)

Do the president’s powers enable him to seize and detain a U.S. citizen based on the president’s resolve that he is an “enemy combatant?” This case summary shows how the Supreme Court answered that question in 2004.

Grades 11, 12, 9, 10
Judicial Branch/Supreme Court
Research (Digests of Primary Sources)