 § 4001.Limitation on detention

In recent years, the statute has been used to challenge military detainment of U.S. citizens accused of terrorist activity.A Congressional Research Service report on the history of the Non-Detention Act concluded, Legislative debate, committee reports, and the political context of 1971 indicate that when Congress enacted Section 4001(a) it intended the statutory language to restrict all detentions by the executive branch, not merely those by the Attorney General.