Guantanamo/Detainees

Law Prof Says Scalia’s ‘Red Meat’ Dissent Makes Court Makeup an Issue

A Harvard Law School professor says the makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court has been thrust back into the spotlight, thanks to a recent dissent by Justice Antonin Scalia. Scalia’s dissent in Boumediene v. Bush warned of “devastating” and “disastrous consequences” that will result from the majority decision giving habeas…

Jun 16, 2008 12:58 PM CDT

Lawyer for David Hicks Says Habeas Ruling Could Help His Client

The lawyer for a former Australian detainee at Guantanamo says yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling finding a right to habeas corpus could help his client. David Hicks is no longer in jail, but a reversal of his conviction would allow him to sell his story for a profit, his lawyer David…

Jun 13, 2008 11:50 AM CDT

Supreme Court Rules Guantanamo Detainees Have Habeas Rights

Updated: The U.S. Supreme Court has delivered a stunning defeat to the Bush administration in a ruling that gives detainees at Guantanamo Bay a right to challenge their detention in federal courts. The court in a 5-4 decision said Congress may suspend habeas corpus only when the country faces rebellion…

Jun 12, 2008 2:49 PM CDT

Most Gitmo Prisoners at Psychological Risk, Report Says

Held under conditions even more stringent than those in “supermax” prisons in the U.S., many detainees at the Guantanamo Bay military prison in Cuba are at least at risk of psychological breakdown, a human rights group reports. Of 270 prisoners at Gitmo, 185 are held in solitary confinement for 22…

Jun 10, 2008 4:00 PM CDT

Accused Sept. 11 Mastermind Rejects Lawyers, Accepts Death Penalty

The alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks told a court at his arraignment today that he welcomes the death penalty because it will allow him to be a martyr. Khalid Sheik Mohammed spoke in response to a warning that he faces the death penalty for confessing his role in…

Jun 5, 2008 4:53 PM CDT

Accused Sept. 11 Conspirators to Be Arraigned Tomorrow

The alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks and four accused conspirators are scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow at Guantanamo Bay. Military law experts told the Washington Post the conspiracy case could be one of the most important criminal trials in modern U.S. history. The trial could focus as much…

Jun 4, 2008 1:34 PM CDT

Guantanamo Judge Ousted in Case of Canadian Youth

The judge presiding over the Guantanamo prosecution of Canadian youth Omar Khadr has been dismissed from the case. The judge, Army Col. Peter Brownback, had recently been at odds with prosecutors in the case, Reuters reports. Earlier this month Brownback ordered prosecutors to turn over key evidence to defense lawyers.…

May 30, 2008 2:23 PM CDT

34 Convicted for Supreme Court Demonstration

Thirty-four people who demonstrated at the U.S. Supreme Court to protest treatment of Guantanamo detainees have been convicted of misdemeanor charges. Demonstrations are banned at the Supreme Court plaza, where the protesters gathered, the Washington Post reports. Judge Wendell Gardner Jr. of the District of Columbia Superior Court rejected arguments…

May 30, 2008 11:49 AM CDT

Our Client: Osama bin Laden’s Ex-Driver—and the Rule of Law

A 2004 telephone call from a law professor and a military lawyer in 2004 led to a startling shift in practice for two Seattle business litigators at Perkins Coie. Soon Harry Schneider, 54, and Joe McMillan, 48, were representing a terrorism suspect in an extremely high-profile case that has already…

May 27, 2008 3:01 PM CDT

Canada Must Give Interrogation Info to Omar Khadr

A Canadian citizen captured by the U.S. in Afghanistan at age 15 and held at the U.S. military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has a constitutional right to materials related to interviews conducted there by Canadian officials in 2003, Canada’s highest court decided today. In what a lawyer for…

May 23, 2008 6:03 PM CDT

Ashcroft, Chertoff Among Those Who Raised Concerns About Interrogations

Among the Justice Department officials who raised concerns about harsh interrogations of al-Qaida suspects were Michael Chertoff, the Homeland Security chief who was at the time the assistant attorney general in charge of the criminal division, and the attorney general himself, John Ashcroft. Sources told the Washington Post that Ashcroft…

May 22, 2008 11:59 AM CDT

US Now Holding 500 Juveniles in Iraq; Was Holding 2,500

In a report to a United Nations committee, the United States says it is holding 500 juveniles, apparently in adult detention facilities, in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since 2002, a total of some 2,500 have reportedly been detained as suspected “unlawful enemy combatants.” “A total of 2,500 youths under the age…

May 19, 2008 9:06 PM CDT

Military Judge Delays Trial for Bin Laden Driver

A military judge has delayed the trial of the former driver for Osama bin Laden. The judge, Capt. Keith Allred, postponed the trial of Salim Hamdan until July 21 to give the U.S. Supreme Court time to rule in a case involving Guantanamo Bay detainees, the New York Times reports.…

May 19, 2008 11:44 AM CDT

Retiring NYT Legal Reporter Warns Law Grads Not to be Parasites

Linda Greenhouse, the retiring Supreme Court reporter for the New York Times, asked graduates of a Rhode Island law school on Friday to help the legal profession “climb back from the abyss.” Speaking at commencement ceremonies for the Roger Williams University School of Law, Greenhouse warned graduates not to be…

May 19, 2008 11:21 AM CDT

Defense Lawyers Say Charges Dropped Against 9/11 Suspect Due to Torture

Defense lawyers say charges have been dropped against a detainee suspected in the Sept. 11 attacks because evidence against him was obtained by torture. The Pentagon announced yesterday its decision to dismiss charges against Mohammed al-Qahtani, suspected of plotting to become the 20th hijacker on Sept. 11. No reason was…

May 14, 2008 10:47 AM CDT