Supreme Court to Take Tribunals Challenge

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a challenge to the military tribunals proposed for accused terrorists.

Lawyers for Salim Ahmed Hamden, a native of Yemen and former driver for Osama bin Laden, brought the case to the high court, CNN reported.

Before embarking on a dangerous experiment to break not only from common law and international law, but also from our traditions of military justice, Americans and the rest of the world should rest assured that these principles will not be abandoned without at least review by the highest court in the land, they said in a brief filed in August.

The Bush administration argues that members of al-Qaida and other international terrorists accused of war crimes are not covered by the U.S. Constitution or the Geneva Conventions.

The case, the most important one so far involving the prisoners being held at Guantanamo, is likely to be argued in March. Chief Justice John Roberts is expected to recuse himself because the case came through the circuit where he served as an appellate judge, so the court could conceivably split 4-4.