From Jeff Deitrich:
Habeas corpus, hocus pocus, whatever.
Most Americans haven’t the slightest idea what this arcane Latin term might mean or why it might be important to them, but it is the reason why most of the cases against Occupy Los Angeles are being dismissed.
It is also the reason why President Barack Obama signed HR 155, the National Defense Authorization Act, into law, giving the president and the military the authority to hold U.S. citizens indefinitely without charges and bringing them before a judge.
Although I have been arrested and jailed scores of times over the years for civil disobedience, it was not until I was arrested and jailed with 300 “occupants” of Occupy Los Angeles on Nov. 30, 2011, that I had a renewed appreciation for habeas corpus.
