Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected unconstitutional George W. Bush-era detention policies - locking up terrorists indefinitely without trial.

One would think, from the reaction of the certain justices, presidents and aspiring presidents, that we had just set hundreds of terrorists free and given them our expressed, written consent to plot another 9/11 catastrophe.

But there 5-4 decision in the case of Boumediene v. Bush merely gives enemy detainees a constitutional right to habeas corpus.

In short, enemy combatants held in Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere may now challenge the legal basis for their detention in a federal court.

Here’s a brief breakdown of what the decision - once again the product of a crucial swing vote by Justice Anthony Kennedy - does and does not do.

• The ruling DOES uphold the fundamental right to habeas corpus, part of the legal system for, oh, a few centuries. The long and short of it, as a legal expert explains to us - the government cannot arrest and detain you without a legitimate reason, basically. Sorry, George.

• The ruling DOES ensure that Guantanamo cannot be the lawless society the administration has made it (and which is why detainees have been held at the base, away from actual U.S. soil, for six years now).

• The ruling DOES say that laws enacted by Congress at the administration’s urging do not circumvent individuals’ right to habeas corpus.

• The ruling DOES NOT close Guantanamo.

• The ruling DOES NOT order all detainees who have not been charged with an offense to be released, nor does it set a timetable for this.

• The ruling DOES NOT specify what factors the courts should consider when deciding whether the government can hold them, despite its stating that enemy detainees are entitled to a “prompt habeas hearing.”

In short, because the Boumediene v. Bush decision is rooted in the actual United States Constitution (imagine that) and not federal statutes, it’ll be much harder for Bush and Congressional cronies to continue doing what they’ve been so diligent at - drafting new laws to keep the courts out of this.