Some politicians and some newspapers are erroneously arguing that the federal courts will be “flooded” with requests from the 270 detainees in Guantanamo Bay.
This is absurd.
In 2004, federal courts handled 92,654 criminal cases. In addition to criminal cases, the courts handled at least 98,000 civil cases (the last year reported is 2002). In total, the federal courts handle at least 190,000 cases per year.
How can an extra 270 cases possibly be a flood?
270 / 190,000 = 0.14% increase. Zero-point-one-four-percent. “Grab the kids, Ma! A flood’s a comin’!”
The courts wont be flooded with writs, but the public might get flooded with ridiculous claims by politicians and journalists.
