Military Tribunals: The Quirin Precedent (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
March 26, 2002 |
| Report Number |
RL31340 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Louis Fisher, Government and Finance Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
This report describes the procedures by the World War II military tribunal to try the eight Germans, the habeas corpus petition to the Supreme Court, and the resulting convictions and executions. Why was the tribunal created, and why were its deliberations kept secret? How have scholars evaluated the Court's decision in Ex parte Quirin (1942)? The decision was unanimous, but archival records reveal division and disagreement among the justices. Also covered in this report is a second effort by Germany two years later to send saboteurs to the United States. The two men captured in this operation were tried by a military tribunal, but under conditions and procedures that substantially reduced the roles of the President and the Attorney General. Those changes resulted from disputes within the Administration, especially between the War Department and the Justice Department. There are two precedents from Quirin: one from 1942, the other from 1944-45.
