Non-Detention Act

The McCarran Internal Security Act of 1950 allowed for the detention of suspected subversives without the Constitutional steps required for imprisonment. The Non-Detention Act requires specific Congressional authorization for such detention. Passed as Public Law 92-128, 85 Stat. 347 (1971), it was codified at 18 U.S.C. § 4001(a). § 4001. Limitation on detention :(a) No citizen shall be imprisoned or otherwise detained by the United States except pursuant to an Act of Congress. The statute was used to challenge military detention of U.S. citizens accused of terrorist activity. A Congressional Research Service report on the history of the Non-Detention Act concluded, Legislative debate, committee reports, and the political context of 1971 indicate that when Congress enacted Section 4001(a) it intended the statutory language to restrict all detentions by the executive branch, not merely those by the Attorney General. Lawmakers, both supporters and opponents of Section 4001(a), recognized that it would restrict the President and military authorities. ==Judicial Proceeding of Law==

The Supreme Court of the United States originally took the case of Rumsfeld v. Padilla to decide whether Congress's Authorization for Use of Military Force authorized the President to detain a U.S. citizen, but did not give an answer, instead ruling that the case had been improperly filed. == See also ==