Federal courts should handle terror cases

NEW YORK, May 28 (UPI) -- A new report says the military commissions and administrative detention at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have failed to adequately prosecute terrorism cases.

The report, released Wednesday by Human Rights First, argues that the U.S. criminal justice system has a long proven ability to adapt to the complexities of terrorism cases. The report, written by former federal prosecutors Richard Zabel and James Benjamin, criticizes the long sought idea of creating a new terrorism court and the controversial detention of terrorist suspects without trial, Human Rights Watch reported.

In their report, titled "In Pursuit of Justice: Prosecuting Terrorism Cases in the Federal Courts," Zabel and Benjamin examined a 15-year record of more than 120 international terrorism cases that have been prosecuted, reviewing motions papers, docket sheets and judicial opinions, among other details.

"Whether the criminal justice system can handle the prosecution of terrorism cases is not an abstract or academic question," Benjamin said in a statement.

"The answer to this question lies in the extensive record of actual prosecutions going back to the early 1990s and continuing to this day in federal courts around the country."