Elf Sternberg

Habeas corpus does not imply the right to *bail*. It implies the right to judicial (not executive) oversight over the decision to used put someone in prison before they are convicted of a crime. It is a protection against illegal imprisonment.

And I agree, it is indeed a separation-of-powers issue. What Gonzalez seems to be saying is that the president claims executive privilege OVER the judiciary. The whole point of habeas corpus is that the judiciary has this power to review executive decisions.

Reversing that means throwing our entire system out of balance.
And here's why: without judicial review, the executive can call *anyone* a terrorist (or bogieman du jour), and without review, there's no way of fighting that claim. You could be called a terrorist just as easily as a terrorist could be called a terrorist.

And no one would be able to get you out, because there would be no balance to the powers of the executive.

The theory is that the judiciary gets to decide if a person is or is not a criminal of whatever type via due process. And that theory is what's at stake here.