In 1487, King Henry VIII created a special private court in which he sat as judge, hearing petitions of redress. The court met in a room in Westminster Palace which had stars painted on the ceiling, and from this mundane decoration the special private King's court drew the name "Star Chamber". The Star Chamber, initially sold to Parliament as a necessity to speed justice along in certain extreme and complex cases, and to try nobles who were, by law, immune from prosecution by the lower courts, the Star Chamber was actually a tool for political repression. Inside the walls of the Star Chamber the law was what the King sad it was. The proceedings were secret, because the nature of the crimes which had been committed could cast doubt on the legitimacy of the entire government. While not legally able to issue a death sentence, the Star Chamber could and often did sentence the accused to torture and mutilation. Parliament finally banned the Star Chamber in 1641.
Once England had "legitimized" the idea of a King's court which could operate above the common laws, other despots and tyrants copied the idea. The Court of France had their own version of the Star Chamber, again secret, again able to met out unusual and cruel sentences (the "Man in the black silk mask", inspiration for the story of the "Man in the iron mask", was thought to have been one such sentence).
And now, President Bush has created his own version of the Star Chamber, able to meet in secret, able to decide for itself what the law is, able to meet out sentences away from public scrutiny, able to keep the accused from admitting to a crime more embarrassing to the prosecution than to the defense (as almost happened with the Noriega "trial"), silent, secret, and above the common law of the Bill Of Rights and the Constitution.
Excerpts from http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/14/national/14DETA.html
NY Times November 14, 2001
Bush to Subject Terrorism Suspects to Military TrialsWASHINGTON, Nov. 13 — President Bush signed an order today allowing special military tribunals to try foreigners charged with terrorism. A senior administration official said that any such trials would "not necessarily" be public and that the American tribunals might operate in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
At the same time, the Justice Department has asked law enforcement authorities across the country to pick up and question 5,000 men, most from Middle Eastern countries, who entered the country legally in the last two years.
...
Under the order, the president himself is to determine who is an accused terrorist and therefore subject to trial by the tribunal.
Who is the greater criminal, the tyrant who steals the nation, or the citizen too afraid to stop him?
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