Oral argument transcripts are now available for the following important Supreme Court cases:

• Rasul v. Bush: This case deals with the constitutionality of denying a writ of habeas corpus to detainees in Guantanamo Bay.
  
• Cheney v. U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia: This case deals with executive privilege. Cheney refused to release the names of the people he consulted to create 2001's energy report. Environmentalists said that the report was biased in favor of a continued reliance on petroleum, and believed that Cheney consulted with a lot of people from the petroleum industry.
  
• Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, Rumsfeld v. Padilla: Both cases deal with U.S. citizens who have been held for two years as "enemy combatants" without being charged and without the ability to challenge the validity of their detention. Lower courts told the government to either charge these two (Hamdi and Padilla) with something or release them. The government appealed to the Supreme Court.
  

All of these cases deal with the powers of the executive branch and will be crucial as the Bush Administration assumes more powers in the continued "War on Terror." The Cheney decision is not as terribly important as the other two, but if any of the habeas corpus cases is found in favor of the government, it could be a dark day for the country, as the executive would be able to hold any American citizen without habeas corpus as long as that citizen is labeled an "enemy combatant." The person would be unable to challenge his detention and could be held indefinitely in the name of national security. The Supreme Court will release its opinions later this summer, probably in late May or early June.