Constitution U S

Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales provided laugh lines for comedians and fodder for outraged bloggers when he told senators recently that the Constitution does not specifically grant individuals the right to habeas corpus. The Constitution appears to contradict him on that historic doctrine, which says those taken into custody have the right to plead their innocence before a judge.

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia reportedly told an overseas audience this month that the U.S. Constitution did not protect foreigners held at America's military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Scalia also told the audience at the University of Freiberg in Switzerland that he was "astounded" at the "hypocritical" reaction in Europe to the prison, said this week's issue of Newsweek. The comments came weeks before justices were to take up an appeal from a detainee at Guantanamo Bay.

By a single vote, the Senate on Tuesday rejected a constitutional amendment that would have given Congress the power to ban flag burning. The tally in favor of the measure was 66 to 34, just shy of the 67 votes required for a two-thirds margin of approval. Such a majority would be necessary in the Senate and House before a constitutional amendment could be sent to the states for ratification.

Blame Austria. In 1772, Austria joined Prussia and Russia in dividing up Poland, which had been weakened by the election of a foreign-born head of state. Fifteen years later, America's Founding Fathers, leery of repeating Poland's experience, added the following to their new Constitution: "No person except a natural born citizen ... shall be eligible to the Office of President."

Successful nation-building eventually gets around to the paperwork. Blood, sweat and tears won't quite seal the deal. For that, we have come to rely on ink too. Now it's Iraq's turn. In an intricate political dance of commission, committee, legislature and electorate, along with the heavy-breathing oversight of the United States, Iraq is set on a course to put its nationhood into writing. Call it a "constitution." It is a big word, one of the biggest in the lexicon of human progress.

For Louise Leigh, a retired medical technologist from El Monte, Sept. 16 will be a dream come true. It will be the first federally recognized Constitution Day, a national celebration of the U.S. government's founding document. It is what she has sought since she founded a nonprofit organization, Constitution Day Inc., in 1997.

Chief justice nominee John G. Roberts Jr. carefully avoided taking sides on many issues Wednesday, but he went out of his way at his Senate confirmation hearing to put some distance between himself and justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas -- the Supreme Court's two staunchest conservatives. And the issue was a basic one, with possibly great import for the future: How should a high court justice interpret the Constitution? Scalia and Thomas proudly call themselves "originalists."

Nowhere in the oath of office taken by Supreme Court justices does the phrase "until death do us part" appear. It just seems that way. Justices today, on average, remain on the high court longer and retire at a more advanced age than ever before. Supreme Court justices now routinely serve a quarter-century or more. No justice has retired at an age younger than 75 since 1981 (when Potter Stewart stepped down at 66). The Soviet Politburo probably turned over faster.

A federal judge who has criticized the Bush administration's handling of the war on terrorism has resigned from a special court that has authority over approving electronic surveillance and searches of terrorism suspects, court officials confirmed Wednesday. The move by Judge James Robertson came shortly after disclosures that the National Security Agency had been monitoring international phone calls and other communications of hundreds of Americans since Sept.

Mayor Gavin Newsom came out swinging Tuesday at President Bush's call for a federal constitutional amendment that would limit marriage to heterosexual couples, calling the announcement a "shameful" attempt to politicize the U.S. Constitution. "The Constitution protects citizens, not politicians in an election year," an angry Newsom told reporters at a City Hall news conference. "He can fly to an aircraft carrier whenever he wants, but he should keep his hands off the Constitution."