Judge upholds detainee rights terror law

WASHINGTON - A federal judge upheld the Bush administration's new terrorism law Wednesday, agreeing that Guantanamo Bay detainees do not have the right to challenge their imprisonment in U.S. courts.

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The ruling by U.S. District Judge James Robertson is the first to address the new Military Commissions Act and is a legal victory for the Bush administration at a time when it has been fending off criticism of the law from Democrats and libertarians.

Robertson rejected a legal challenge by Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a former driver for

Osama bin Laden whose case prompted the Supreme Court to strike down the Bush administration's policy on detainees last year.

Following Hamdan's victory, Bush asked for and got a new law that established military commissions to try enemy combatants and stripped them of the right to seek their freedom in U.S. courts.

Hamdan's case was sent back before Robertson, a nominee of

President Clinton who was a prominent civil rights advocate in private practice.