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From Downes V. Bidwell To Boumediene V. Bush: "The Constitution Follows The Flag ... But It [Still] Doesn't Quite Catch Up With It", Pedro A. Malavet
From Downes V. Bidwell To Boumediene V. Bush: "The Constitution Follows The Flag ... But It [Still] Doesn't Quite Catch Up With It", Pedro A. Malavet
Pedro A. Malavet
Boumediene v. Bush, resolved by the U.S. Supreme Court in June of 2008, granted habeas corpus rights, at least for the time being, to the persons detained at Guantanamo Bay Naval Station. The majority partially based its ruling on the doctrine of the Insular Cases, first set forth in the 1901 decision in Downes v. Bidwell. Indeed, the court was unanimous that the plurality opinion of Justice Edward Douglass White in Downes is still the dominant interpretation of the Constitution’s Territorial Clause, abandoning the rule set forth in Dred Scott v. Sanford. This article provides historical context and analysis of …