The federal government has the power to detain those it designates as enemy combatants, including United States citizens, but detainees that are United States citizens must have the rights of due process and the ability to challenge their enemy combatant status before an impartial authority. Decided June 28, 2004 (argued April 28, 2004). Opinion of the Court: Sandra Day O'Connor → go there Dissenting: Scalia, Thomas. Applied: the Fifth Amendment → go there Topic: Detention of terrorism suspects. Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, 542 U.S. 507 (2004), is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court recognized the power of the U.S. government to detain enemy combatants, including U.S. citizens, but ruled that detainees who are U.S. citizens must have the rights of due process, and the ability to challenge their enemy combatant status before an impartial authority. Wiki link