WASHINGTON, March 28 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court heard argument Tuesday on the military tribunals used to try terror suspects at the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Though there was no clear consensus in comments from the bench, the justices were generally skeptical of the process set up on the order of President George Bush, SCOTUSblog.com reported.
The trials are being challenged by Salim Ahmed Hamdan, Osama bin Laden's former chauffeur, who is being held as an "enemy combatant" at Guantanamo. He was captured in Afghanistan during the U.S.-led invasion after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks in the United States.
The administration contends "enemy combatants" -- non-military terror suspects -- do not have the internationally guaranteed protections of prisoners of war.
New Chief Justice John Roberts, who participated on a panel that heard the case in a lower court last year, recused himself and left the bench before the argument began and will not vote on a final decision.
Justice Anthony Kennedy, a key swing vote on the court, asked a number of questions from the bench that questioned the validity of the process, SCOTUSblog.com said.
