11.19.08
Posted in Gitmo, Habeas Corpus, Jacob Canon, The Oscar Show, UVa College of Arts & Sciences, University of Virginia, Virginia Film Festival, history at 12:04 pm by Jacob Canon
In today’s show, adapted from an article written by freelance writer Karen Doss Bowman, we discuss the work of UVa Professor Paul Halliday, and his research of Habeas Corpus, the only specific right enshrined in the US Constitution.
Habeas corpus, the judicial means by which prisoners may demand that their jailer show a valid reason for their detention, is considered a bedrock of personal liberty in U.S. law—and is the only specific right enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.
Habeas Corpus and Ensuring Constitutional Protections [6:14m]:
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This summer, when the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its historic affirmation of the right of Guantánamo Bay detainees to challenge their confinement, one University of Virginia history professor’s research was critical to how the justices arrived at their decision. For nearly a decade, Associate Professor of History Paul Halliday has been quietly studying the use of habeas corpus in England and its empire back to the 16th century and earlier.
James Oldham, St. Thomas More Professor of Law and Legal History at Georgetown University Law Center consulted with Halliday about the writ’s history for several amicus briefs written on behalf of the Guantánamo detainees. Oldham said, “Paul is probably the most knowledgeable person on the planet about the historical scope of the writ of habeas corpus and its use in the Anglo-American tradition, and Halliday’s book on the subject (expected in 2010) “will rewrite that history [of habeas corpus] in a fundamental way.”
Halliday never dreamed he would be doing research on habeas corpus. But while immersed in research of litigation in 16th- and 17th-century English politics at London’s National Archives, he realized that documents concerning more than 11,000 habeas cases from the court of the King’s Bench—the king’s greatest common law court—remained bundled in their original files, most unopened since they were stored away hundreds of years ago. Halliday said, “The more work I did, I realized that what’s in the archive and what’s been written [about habeas corpus] had nothing to do with one another.”
Scribbled on tiny scraps of parchment (1 or 2 inches by 8 to 10 inches) and written in Latin, many writs are rumpled, worm-eaten and soiled with coal dust, dirt or water stains. Halliday has since photographed thousands and noted their contents, which he then analyzes in an intricate computer database that tracks each case.
Halliday said he was surprised to learn that “The writ of habeas corpus was not founded on ideas about liberty.” Instead, it was designed to ensure that individuals imprisoning people in the king’s name upheld the law and did not abuse their authority.
The key in the Supreme Court Guantánamo case (Boumediene v. Bush) was whether non-citizens are entitled to habeas corpus, and if so, whether they must be on American soil to use it.
A recent Virginia Law Review article by Halliday, and UVa Law School’s American legal historian G. Edward White, was cited four times in the decision by attorneys on both sides. They both identified what Founding Fathers understood about habeas corpus and included the “Suspension Clause” in the Constitution, which reads: “The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended unless, when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety, may require it.”
Since 1789, the writ has been suspended only a few times, always controversially, including by Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War and following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 allowing U.S. internment of people of Japanese descent.
The article also showed that the English court consistently allowed foreigners access to habeas corpus. In the 1640s, during the English Civil War, justices used habeas corpus to release those imprisoned by military officers. Halliday said, “Place was not the point in habeas litigation. People were.” And went on to say, “What we find in thousands of cases across thousands of miles are patterns revealing principles about habeas corpus.”
Having consulted Halliday about Gauntanamo cases, Jonathan Hafetz of the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law said, “Paul’s work sheds light on the original meaning and purpose of the Constitution’s guarantee of habeas corpus. It shows that efforts to deny habeas corpus to detainees today, and to create prisons outside the law, contradicts centuries of history and tradition.”
You’ve been listening to the Oscar Show, I’m Jacob Canon. Join us next week when we will look at MacArthur Fellow, Bill T. Jones, and his discussion of the Struggles for Art in Society.
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11.12.08
Posted in Film, Gitmo, Jacob Canon, Politics, The Oscar Show, UVa College of Arts & Sciences, University of Virginia, VFF, Virginia Film Festival, War on Terror at 12:04 pm by Jacob Canon
In our previous show we reflected on several of the movies showcased at this year’s Virginia Film Festival. In today’s show, we will examine “The Response,” a short film about the Guantanamo Bay War Tribunals and the plight of Guantanamo detainees by Sig Libowitz, screened at this year’s Virginia Film Festival.
During the course of the seven years since 9-11, the United States and its elected representatives have made calculated moves to deal with the declared “War on Terror.” Because of the nature of this global war, which is based more in backrooms around the world than on battlefields, it has become increasingly difficult to have concrete ideas about whom and where we are, or should be fighting.
Because of the clandestine nature of the war, the measures to combat it have also taken a more covert form, including… Abu Ghraib… and more recently, Guantanamo Bay. These Prisoner Detentions Camps were set up in an effort to isolate suspected enemy combatants from battle regions and interrogate them so that the war in the Gulf, and on Terror could be mitigated.
Gitmo and The Response [6:07m]:
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In the movie, “The Response,” writer, Sig Libowitz, utilizes transcripts from Combatant Status Review Tribunals, or CSRT’s, to dramatically explore the events that lead up to and occur, during these trials.
The setting for the movie is a CSRT in Guantanamo, and examines the interactions between a detainee played by Aasif Mandvi, and his inquisitors as portayed by Kate Mulgrew, Peter Reigert and Libowitz, who plays a “King Solomon - like” character who ends up interpreting the limited protection of rights for the accused combatant, while shielding the world from a potential terrorist.
The movie is delivered in two acts. First, we are introduced to the shortened trial process, in which a detainee is brought before the tribunal and asked a series of questions about his knowledge, or lack thereof, concerning their connection to terrorists and terror activity. Libowitz characterized the experience for the detainee as a “… few minutes in front of a war tribunal…this is him defending his life.”
The process presented is antithetical to what we as American citizens expect as our basic rights in a court of law. Elements important and implicit in our court system that are not available to a detainee include: the right to counsel by a competent attorney - they are given a military advisor who is not an actual attorney; to know the identity of their accusers, which are only known by the tribunal officers, and what the charges are against them.
Finally, and potentially most important is the “writ of habeas corpus,” which states that the accused may demand a determination of the right to be held by their accuser. This element is one of the most important parts of the US justice system, and yet was not available to these detainees, who could have been held indefinitely, until a Supreme Court ruling on June 12, 2008.
After the testimony period the movie shifts to the second act, the deliberations of the tribunal judges. It is during this period that most of the moral arguments for and against the policies and ramifications of Guantanamo are explored. Col Jefferson (Peter Reigert) makes the telling comment, “Why don’t we measure our behavior against who we say we are and tell ourselves we are as a country.” To which Col. Simms (Kate Mulgrew) responds, “That’s a little simplistic after 9-11…” The detainees fate is then left in the hands of Capt. Miller (Libowitz).
(See clip of “The Response” here)
This even handed look at the Guantanamo Tribunals was lauded by two Special Forces soldiers who came to a recent Baltimore screening. They were so impressed with how the material was presented, both gentlemen expressed their thanks in a unique way. Libowitz read from one of the letters which said, “Thank you and the film for highlighting the real nexus confronting us today. The discipline in presenting a balanced treatment is most patriotic. The enclosed stone is from the World Trade Center, Tower Number 2. The razor wire is from Gitmo. They are presented to you and the film on behalf of the soldiers that are in this nexus with you.”
It will be interesting to see how this story unfolds. Just yesterday, president-Elect Obama stated that he planned on bringing charges against these detainees in US courts. This plan is speculated to require creation of a new legal system because of the classified information in the most sensitive cases.
To learn more about the movie,“The Response” please visit www.theresponsemovie.com.
You’ve been listening to the Oscar Show, I’m Jacob Canon. Join us next week when we will discuss the work of UVa Professor Paul Halliday, and his research of Habeas Corpus, the only specific right enshrined in the US constitution.
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11.05.08
Posted in Jacob Canon, Relationships, The Oscar Show, UVa College of Arts & Sciences, University of Virginia, VFF, Virginia Film Festival at 11:04 am by Jacob Canon
In our previous show we previewed this year’s Virginia Film Festival, hosted by the University of Virginia. In today’s show, we will relive and reflect on the events of this year’s Virginia film festival.
This year’s Virginia Film Festival, hosted by the University of Virginia, kicked off Thursday Evening, Oct. 30, and featured some80 films and 100 guests exploring images of immigrants, outsiders and extraterrestrials.
As in years past, the Festival included Stars and events that will be remembered for years to come. Thursday’s Opening of Lake City was no exception. The featured guests included the film’s writer/directors Perry Moore and Hunter Hill, producers Mark Johnson and Weiman Seid, Sissy Spacek, Lake City’s male lead Troy Garity and his mother, Jane Fonda.
Reflections from the 2008 Virginia Film Festival [6:11m]:
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When asked about someone else portraying Troy’s mother, Fonda, with the UVa Pep band playing in the background, remarked, “I’ve seen it now a number of times so I’m use to it now, but I didn’t like it at the beginning… except that I love Sissy so it helped that I love and admire her so much.”Lake City is the touching story of a family’s struggle to cope with tragedy. Garity described the movie as “a wonderful southern story about a troubled family that has lost the ability to speak to each other (who) bridge that gap finally…”
After the Film, festival director, Richard Herskowitz, led the actors, writer/directors, and producers in a discussion about the film which included many funny, as well as introspective moments concerning the making of Lake City. The story is based on a family that writer/director Hunter Hill knew as a child. Hill said that in spite of the tragedy “the whole point of the movie is that there is hope and… healing.”
(Lake City Expanded Article)
On Friday evening, UVa grad, Julie Lynn, along actor David Morse and director Rodrigo García, introduced Passengers, an exploration of romance and intrigue under the shadow of death. When asked about how he came to be part of the film project Garcia said, “I was looking to do something with hopefully a little bit more of a popular entertainment appeal and something that I hadn’t written…I read the story and I thought it was a good story. I liked the character of Claire (Ann Hathaway).”
When asked about his involvement with Passengers, David Morse (St. Elsewhere, Disturbia, ) said, “the two things about this first of all was the script… and I watched Nine Lives which I thought was just brilliant. Just the quality of everything… about the daring… and the story telling… and the performances, I just thought it was great. So I thought this is just an experience that you want to be a part of… Rodrigo I thought, ‘I’m completely impressed with him.’”
The Garcia-Lynn team is already working on their next project and is set to include Passengers’ actor David Morse, who, when asked if he knew about this, joked, “I just found this out.”
(Passengers Article)
Saturday evening, producer and UVa alum, Glen Williamson and writer Megan Holley, introduced their film, Sunshine Cleaning. Based on the script that won Holley the Virginia Governor’s Screenwriting Award in 2003, Sunshine Cleaning was first premiered at Sundance and will be released by Overture Films this winter. This wonderful, quirky, heart-felt story leads us through the lives of two sisters, Rose (Amy Adams) and Norah (Emily Blunt) who start a biohazard removal/crime scene clean-up service. As the story unfolds we find out about the strained and yet loving dynamic that these sister’s share, balanced by their father Joe (Alan Arkin).
Asked where the idea for the film came from, Holley said, “the kernel of the story really came from an NPR story that I heard about two women who started a crime scene cleaning business, and I was really struck by the interview… just how important they thought their job was… they were helping somebody… The more I researched this business, the more I realized how important it is to honor what they are doing.”
(Sunshine Cleaning Article)
And for the fifth year, one of the most popular events at the Virginia Film Festival, the Adrenaline Film Project, came to its culmination Saturday night. The Culbreth Theater was filled to capacity as 13 imaginative teams vied for the accolades of the Judges and Audience. The winners entries included:
Hail Mary - Audience Award Honorable Mention
Girl Powered - Audience Award
Roommate from Hell - Jury Award Honorable Mention
They will come for You - Jury Award
(Adrenaline Film Project Expanded Story)
For links to expanded articles and movie trailers, for these and other Film Festival Events, please visit The Oscar show podcast-Blog site by visiting www.wtju.net and click on blogs & pods. And select The Oscar Show.
You’ve been listening to the Oscar Show, I’m Jacob Canon. Join us next week when we will discuss The Response. This special film examines the turmoil that is the plight of the Guantanamo Detainees.
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