JUDGE RICHARD LEON just got the kind of lesson you can't learn in law school. At least not if you want a Bush appointment. Last seen denying Guantánamo Bay inmates the right to challenge their detainments, Mr Leon was over-ruled by the Supreme Court. Today Mr Leon ruled that five of six detainees exercising their restored habeas corpus rights were detained without merit. He ordered the men freed "forthwith". Demonstrating that justice remains free of fear or favor, Mr Leon then asked the government to waive its right to appeal.

The lesson, and hopefully all those who might need it are already seated on the federal bench, is that habeas is the foundation of justice precisely because the executive branch should never be trusted. These men spent nearly seven years imprisoned (and were mentioned during George Bush's 2002 state-of-the-union address) based on the strength of a rumour. Since that time, the administration blocked their release with iterative ridiculous legal arguments, including the one Judge Leon originally upheld. At least he finally faced up to the truth. The New York Timesreports that some consider an appeal likely.