Obama reportedly weighs executive action to bypass congressional obstacle and close Guantanamo

President Barack Obama is said to be unwavering in his commitment to close the Guantanamo detention facility, so much so that the White House is drafting options that would allow him to do so through executive action. The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) has a report based on information from…

Oct 10, 2014 8:44 AM CDT

Videos of forced feedings at Gitmo must be released, federal judge rules

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has ordered the release of 28 videos showing a Guantanamo detainee’s forced feedings and removals from his cell. U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler cited a First Amendment right of access to the videotapes, report the New York Times, the Miami Herald and The BLT:…

Oct 6, 2014 8:27 AM CDT

NCIS trolling for child porn offenders violates Posse Comitatus regulations, 9th Circuit says

A federal appeals court has tossed evidence of child pornography because it was obtained as a result of a broad online investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, violating policies and regulations banning military enforcement of civilian laws. The Sept. 12 ruling by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court…

Sep 22, 2014 9:11 AM CDT

Padilla gets new 21-year sentence after 11th Circuit says original 17-year term was too lenient

Told by a federal appeals court that the 17-year sentence she had given a convicted terrorism plotter was too lenient, a federal judge in Miami on Tuesday resentenced Jose Padilla to a 21-year term. The Atlanta-based 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke had…

Sep 9, 2014 1:00 PM CDT

Atheist who wouldn’t take ‘so help me God’ oath isn’t allowed to re-enlist, group says

The American Humanist Association says it may sue on behalf of an atheist soldier who wasn’t allowed to re-enlist in the Air Force because he wouldn’t take an oath with the words “so help me God.” The airman who is stationed at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada crossed out…

Sep 9, 2014 7:48 AM CDT

DOJ releases redacted 2004 legal memos OKing warrantless NSA searches of US citizens

The Justice Department has released redacted versions of May 2004 and July 2004 legal memos about the powers claimed by officials in then-President George W. Bush’s administration to conduct warrantless wiretap and email surveillance on U.S. citizens. The memos discuss the National Security Agency’s so-called Stellar Wind program, which focused…

Sep 8, 2014 12:55 PM CDT

Growing military and federal employment boutique opens new San Diego office

A growing New York-based boutique that focuses much of its practice on representing members of the military and federal employees has opened its first office west of the Mississippi River. The new Tully Rinckey office is located in San Diego. It is headed by longtime litigator Steven Herrick, who earned…

Sep 3, 2014 11:35 AM CDT

Perkins Coie lawyer who fought ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ dies in bike accident

A Perkins Coie associate who helped challenge the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy has died in a bicycle accident. Sher Kung, 31, died Friday morning when a truck making a left turn struck her as she was riding her bike to work in downtown Seattle, report the Seattle Times,…

Sep 2, 2014 10:55 AM CDT

Program will mobilize lawyers to help reduce VA claims processing backlog

Sep 1, 2014 7:20 AM CDT

Top military court will hear appeal of airman accused of exposing others to HIV

Corrected: The nation’s top military court has agreed to hear the appeal of a Kansas airman sentenced to eight years in prison for exposing others to HIV. The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces will review the evidence against David Gutierrez, a sergeant who was stripped of his rank…

Aug 12, 2014 4:16 PM CDT

Legal hackers use coding to help users navigate law’s intricacies and find solutions

It’s easy to become so overwhelmed by the deluge of available data that information impedes rather than enhances legal representation. That doesn’t have to be the case. According to a panel of lawyers and legal hackers during a Saturday session at the ABA Annual Meeting entitled “Cracking the Code: Everything…

Aug 9, 2014 4:06 PM CDT

Defense lawyers can’t see secret order on secret motions in cases against alleged terrorist plotters

A Guantanamo judge has issued a secret order on two secret prosecution motions in the cases of detainees accused of plotting the USS Cole bombing and the Sept. 11 attacks. Defense lawyers say the secret filings don’t meet the standards for classified materials, but the position is difficult to argue…

Jul 17, 2014 12:15 PM CDT

More than 14,000 draft notices sent to men born in the 1800s

More than 14,000 men who have almost certainly been dead for years got interesting letters in the mail last week. According to a story by the Associated Press, 14,000 draft notices were erroneously sent through the mail in Pennsylvania by the Selective Service System. The notices were sent out to…

Jul 10, 2014 10:37 PM CDT

Veterans with disability claims will get free legal help in ABA pilot program with VA

The ABA is cooperating with the Department of Veterans Affairs in a pilot program to provide free legal representation to vets with pending disability claims. The Veterans’ Claims Assistance Network, known as ABA VCAN, is getting underway with pilot sites in St. Petersburg, Florida, and Chicago, according to an ABA…

Jul 10, 2014 10:44 AM CDT

‘Lawful conduct of war’ analysis in DOJ memo justified killing of US citizen in Yemen

The September 2011 killing of a U.S. citizen in Yemen in a targeted drone strike was determined to be justified, in a prior U.S. Department of Justice legal memo, as “lawful conduct of war.” Released Monday in a redacted version by the DOJ, the memo says the strike was authorized…

Jun 23, 2014 7:59 PM CDT