http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030213/ap_on_re_u
s/anti_war_lawsuit_5
"BOSTON -
Six House members, members of the military and parents of servicemen
went to federal court Thursday to try to prevent the president from
launching an invasion of Iraq without an explicit declaration of war
from Congress.
Rep. John Conyers (news, bio, voting record), D-Mich., and the other
plaintiffs said the October 2002 congressional resolution backing
military action against Iraq did not specifically declare war and
unlawfully ceded the decision to President Bush (news - web sites).
Conyers cited the passage from the U.S. Constitution that states,
"Congress shall have power ... to declare war."
"Get it? Only Congress," Conyers said at a news conference in
Washington.
John Bonifaz, the Boston lawyer who filed the lawsuit seeking an
immediate injunction, said Bush is rushing to war without seeking
approval or even a thorough debate by Congress.
"The president is not a king," he said. "He does not have the power
to wage war against another country absent a declaration of war from
Congress."
U.S. District Judge Joseph Tauro agreed late Thursday to hold an
expedited hearing Feb. 20 on the injunction request.
The other members of Congress named as plaintiffs are: Dennis
Kucinich, D-Ohio; Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill.; Jim McDermott, D-Wash.;
Jose Serrano, D-N.Y.; and Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas.
Other plaintiffs include a member of the Massachusetts National Guard
who was recently activated, an Air Force reservist from
Massachusetts, and a Marine stationed in the Persian Gulf, Bonifaz
said. Their identities were not released.
"I would imagine that they're aware the lawsuit is a very long shot,
an extremely long shot," said Taylor Reveley, dean of the William and
Mary School of Law and author of the book "War Powers of the
President and Congress: Who Holds the Arrows and Olive Branch?"
"But they're probably interested in doing anything they can to throw
sand in the wheels of American military action in Iraq."
Reveley said majorities in both houses of Congress approving a
resolution authorizing military action — as the House and Senate did
in October — would pass constitutional muster and provide wide
presidential discretion.
The congressional resolution states: "This joint resolution may be
cited as the `Authorization for the Use of Military Force Against
Iraq.'"
Congress has not formally declared a war since World War II. The War
Powers Act, passed in 1973 in response to the Vietnam War and the
actions of President Nixon, requires the president to seek
congressional approval before or shortly after ordering military
action abroad. It also requires the president to report to
Congress....."
s/anti_war_lawsuit_5
"BOSTON -
Six House members, members of the military and parents of servicemen
went to federal court Thursday to try to prevent the president from
launching an invasion of Iraq without an explicit declaration of war
from Congress.
Rep. John Conyers (news, bio, voting record), D-Mich., and the other
plaintiffs said the October 2002 congressional resolution backing
military action against Iraq did not specifically declare war and
unlawfully ceded the decision to President Bush (news - web sites).
Conyers cited the passage from the U.S. Constitution that states,
"Congress shall have power ... to declare war."
"Get it? Only Congress," Conyers said at a news conference in
Washington.
John Bonifaz, the Boston lawyer who filed the lawsuit seeking an
immediate injunction, said Bush is rushing to war without seeking
approval or even a thorough debate by Congress.
"The president is not a king," he said. "He does not have the power
to wage war against another country absent a declaration of war from
Congress."
U.S. District Judge Joseph Tauro agreed late Thursday to hold an
expedited hearing Feb. 20 on the injunction request.
The other members of Congress named as plaintiffs are: Dennis
Kucinich, D-Ohio; Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill.; Jim McDermott, D-Wash.;
Jose Serrano, D-N.Y.; and Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas.
Other plaintiffs include a member of the Massachusetts National Guard
who was recently activated, an Air Force reservist from
Massachusetts, and a Marine stationed in the Persian Gulf, Bonifaz
said. Their identities were not released.
"I would imagine that they're aware the lawsuit is a very long shot,
an extremely long shot," said Taylor Reveley, dean of the William and
Mary School of Law and author of the book "War Powers of the
President and Congress: Who Holds the Arrows and Olive Branch?"
"But they're probably interested in doing anything they can to throw
sand in the wheels of American military action in Iraq."
Reveley said majorities in both houses of Congress approving a
resolution authorizing military action — as the House and Senate did
in October — would pass constitutional muster and provide wide
presidential discretion.
The congressional resolution states: "This joint resolution may be
cited as the `Authorization for the Use of Military Force Against
Iraq.'"
Congress has not formally declared a war since World War II. The War
Powers Act, passed in 1973 in response to the Vietnam War and the
actions of President Nixon, requires the president to seek
congressional approval before or shortly after ordering military
action abroad. It also requires the president to report to
Congress....."