William Roberts Prisoner

Justices reject appeals on rendition, word 'God' in presidential oath

Washington (CNN) -- The Supreme Court has again refused to review the limits of liability involving the secret detention of a suspected terrorist under the government's post-9/11 "extraordinary rendition" program.

In a separate case, the court turned aside a challenge to the use of the phrase "so help me God" as an informal part of the presidential oath of office.

In the "extraordinary rendition" case, the justices without comment on Monday rejected the petition of Binyam Mohamed and four other men, each of whom claims he was "forcibly disappeared and transported to arbitrary detention and torture on flights" arranged by a private government contractor at the behest of the Central Intelligence Agency. The high court's order stops a pending lawsuit.

At issue is when federal courts can intervene when the White House invokes the "state secrets privilege," preventing disclosure of sensitive or national security information. The high court has not fully examined the state-secrets privilege since 1953, when it affirmed the government's ability to limit public release of certain types of evidence.

The justices have in recent years turned aside numerous challenges to the doctrine when it involves executive branch actions in the war on terror.

The Bush administration initially intervened in the case on behalf of itself and a Boeing aircraft subsidiary, seeking dismissal of the lawsuit on the basis of the state secrets privilege. The Obama administration has continued the government's effort to dismiss the entire lawsuit, claiming the very subject matter is a state secret.

The current lawsuit was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of the five former detainees. The lead plaintiff, Mohammed, is an Ethiopian native arrested in Pakistan in 2002. Court records show that after three months in prison, he was secretly transported by a private U.S. chartered jet to Morocco.

Security agents of that country allegedly tortured Mohamed for the next 18 months to gain information about terror activities. He says he was routinely beaten to the point of unconsciousness, was cut with a scalpel all over his body, and had hot liquid poured on him.

ACLU lawyers say other terror suspects were routinely sent to other nations for secret detention and questioning as a way to prevent direct U.S. involvement in what the human rights group calls torture of enemy combatants, which is banned under federal and international law.

William Roberts Sr. & Cornelius Roberts-brothers? - My Long ...

Originally posted at  http://sites.google.com/site/descendantsofcorneliusroberts/fsdbhdj

13 Aug 2010

Col. James Robert’s Tories were active on the NW side of the Blue Ridge in the Ashe Co., NC area according to Col. Richard Allen’s pension claims. By family associations it has been suggested that Cornelius Roberts (Neal Roberts) is the son or brother of this man, but this is far from proven. James is also likely to be the father of Happy Roberts who married William Riddle and William Roberts who also appeared on the William Herbert 1774 militia accounts. A James Roberts appears in the area northwest of today’s Martinsville, Henry Co., Virginia, by 1753 and in the late 1760s he is joined by a John and Cornelius. James Roberts may be the man who served at the Battle of Point Pleasant under William Campbell.

On 5 July 1776 the land of James Roberts in Montgomery Co., Virginia was confiscated and sold because he had taken up arms with the British. In 1779 his land in Surry Co., NC was also confiscated by act of the legislature in New Bern.

Benjamin Phipps pension app: ” about the year 1779 or 80 he [Phipps] was engaged in making a crop of corn, when Colonel Roberts, at the head of a company of Tories, came there [to Capt. John Cox's] and made prisoners of him and William Craig and Beverly Watkins. The Tories carred him to the British Army commanded by Lord Rogers…”

David Cox pension app: “Sometime after this affair a certain Captain Roberts of the Tory party came into the neighborhood with a company of –, and this declarant with Major Love pursued them into — near the head of New River, determined to overtake them but Capt. Baker of North Carolina heard of them and his party overtook, wounded or killed the whole party except Roberts their captain who made good his escape…”

George Morris Esq. – an old Whig on New River: “When friends and neighbors collected and pursued them to one Capt. Patrick John – near where the town of Jefferson now stands where they overtook them committing outrages on the old Captain – they had but a bridel rein around his neck and were leading him out of his gate to hang him when the Whigs came up – fixed on them – killed two of the English – wounded the other – took him prisoner – and Capt. Roberts and the other Tory narrowly escaped.”

In the Draper manuscripts, “Roberts was on his route to Ninety-Six with about 20 men though he did not come with him. Col. Roberts was passing through [now] Ashe County and passed by Benj. Cuthbirth’s and robbed his 5 valuable horses. I think this was 1781. Some time after this Capt. James Roberts, son of Col. Roberts passed through Ashe on the same trail that had been traveled by Col. Roberts. The Captain had but 4 men besides himself, one Tory and 3 British soldiers.

A treatise on the law of wills and codicils

The British review, and London critical journal

A complete collection of state trials and proceedings for high treason and other crimes and misdemeanors from the earliest period to the year 1783, with notes and other illustrations

Cobbett's complete collection of state trials and proceedings for high treason, and other crimes and misdemeanor from the earliest period to the present time ... from the ninth year of the reign of King Henry, the Second, A.D.1163, to ... [George IV, A.D.1820]

Cobbett's complete Collection of State Trials and proceedings for high treason and other crimes and misdemeanors from the earliest period to the present time, with notes and other illustrations