Justices to consider the civil liberties of long-term detainees. The Supreme Court begins an examination this week of constitutional issues raised in the war on terrorism, taking up three cases that together could clarify the state of civil liberties in a new era. The terrorism cases — testing the rights of long-term detainees — are the first to be heard by the justices from a still-rising tide of lawsuits that flooded the courts after the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. By stepping in now, the court makes a sharp break with its earlier refusal to hear a variety of other challenges to the government’s actions after the attacks. Full Story