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National Security Courts

As Congress and the executive branch consider how to close Guantanamo Bay and revise

U.S.

detention policy, some have advocated creating specialized national security courts. These courts would oversee prosecutions of terrorist suspects, review and supervise a system of preventive detention for terrorist suspects, or both. The proposals for these courts generally include reduced due process and evidentiary protections for suspects.

The Constitution Project argues that national security courts are unnecessary for either purpose and pose serious threats to constitutional rights. Our traditional federal courts can meet the challenges posed by terrorism prosecutions, and we should not adopt national security courts to oversee a legalized system of indefinite preventive detention without trial for terrorist suspects.

National Security Courts

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