GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Shot down once in an attempt to guarantee civil liberties for accused terrorists, U.S. Rep. Justin Amash and three Democratic lawmakers are again trying to deny the indefinite detention of suspects.

The Cascade Township Republican is backing legislation that would prevent people captured on American soil of being held without access to lawyers and the criminal court system.

It’s essentially the same fight he led last month along with U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, D-Washington, when the pair backed a defense bill amendment that was ultimately rejected in a 182-238 vote.

Smith, the ranking Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, is also a part of a bill introduced last week and dubbed The Civil Liberties Act of 2012. The two other co-sponsors are Colorado Rep. Ed Perlmutter and California Rep. John Garamendi.

The group contends the National Defense Authorization Act passed in December lacks key measures that guarantee a suspect’s right to appear in court and not be held by the military.

The bill would also put a halt to a practice of suspects being detained by law enforcement and then transferred to custody of the armed services.

Critics of the May amendment and this month’s proposal say terrorism suspects should not be granted the right to silence and that they should be subjected to attempts to gain information and prevent other potential attacks.

“Our Constitution does not permit the federal government to detain American citizens indefinitely without charge or trial,” Amash said. “I strongly believe in protecting the country’s security and equipping our Armed Forces with the tools they need to defeat our enemies. But the American people cannot support measures that, in the name of security, violate our constitutional rights.”

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