The Supreme Court has asked the Bush Administration for an explanation in the case of a post-911 immigrant detained in secret proceedings:

One of those immigrants, known only as M.K.B., challenged his detention. But even that has been shrouded in secrecy. His appeal has reached the Supreme Court, only there is little written evidence that his case exists. Lower courts sealed all the legal filings, as well as the records of how his case was handled. The proceedings were held in secret.

That is unconstitutional, Miami public defender Paul Rashkind argued in the case from Florida. The Supreme Court should intervene, Rashkind wrote in an appeal, "to preserve and protect the public's common-law and First Amendment rights to know, but also to reinforce those rights in a time of increased national suspicion about the free flow of information and debate."

You can read the background and details of the case at Scotus Blog .

The cert petitition filed in the Supreme Court (M.K.B. v. Warden, No. 03-6747) can be viewed here. [link via How Appealing.]

Update: One of our readers points out this excellent article on the case.