Betsy Woodruff Swan reports:
The Justice Department has quietly asked Congress for the ability to ask chief judges to detain people indefinitely without trial during emergencies — part of a push for new powers that comes as the coronavirus spreads through the United States.
Read more on Politico.
via Joe Cadillic
Update: Orin Kerr offered some interesting commentary on the media coverage of DOJ’s proposal, noting that the DOJ is not seeking what the media reports tend to claim it is seeking:
The media has been reporting this as DOJ seeking the power to indefinitely detain suspects. But as I read the story, the actual request is to have the decision to pause cases in the case of an emergency to be made by the chief judge in each district instead of by each judge. pic.twitter.com/viznYxvimX
— Orin Kerr (@OrinKerr) March 22, 2020