Military Law

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

9th Circuit Reinstates Challenge to ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’

A federal appeals court is allowing an Air Force nurse to challenge the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy under a standard that makes her case easier to prove. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled yesterday that the government would have to show its policy on gays in…

May 22, 2008 11:30 AM CDT

‘Torture Team’ Mystery: Who OK’d US Terrorism Interrogation Tactics?

A new book by attorney Philippe Sands is written in the style of a mystery novel. In fact, it is even recommended by John Le Carré, the well-known author of numerous best-selling spy thrillers. But Torture Team is nonfiction. Its topic: Who in the U.S. government was primarily responsible for…

May 21, 2008 7:18 PM CDT

Lawyer’s ‘Whopper’ Lie About Stabbing Yields Reprimand

A lawyer’s “whopper” of a lie about the person who stabbed him has resulted in a written reprimand. At the time of the incident, lawyer Calon Blackburn Jr. worked as a civilian legal adviser to the Army in Qatar on administrative law, contracts and other matters, the Associated Press reports.…

May 21, 2008 11:50 AM 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

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

Judge Bars Pentagon Official from Guantanamo Trial

A military judge in the trial of Osama bin Laden’s driver has barred the Pentagon official who oversees the military commissions at Guantanamo from participating in the case. Capt. Keith Allred ruled that the official, Brig. Gen. Thomas Hartmann, was too closely aligned with the prosecution, the New York Times…

May 12, 2008 12:48 PM CDT

Federal Judge to Review Claimed 2002 U.S. Torture Memo

A federal judge has ordered the U.S. government to turn over to him for in camera review by Monday a secret memorandum described by the American Civil Liberties Union as one of the most important documents concerning the treatment of terrorism suspects that hasn’t yet been made public. The ACLU…

May 8, 2008 11:01 PM CDT

Military Judge Threatens to Suspend Khadr Terror Trial Over Evidence Issue

A military judge has sided with the defense in pretrial proceedings in the the controversial terrorism case of a Canadian suspect captured by U.S. forces in Afghanistan at age 15. Unless the military turns over to defense lawyers by May 22 a prison log of Omar Khadr’s treatment at the…

May 8, 2008 10:17 PM CDT

Released Guantanamo Detainee Became Suicide Bomber

A Kuwaiti detainee released from Guantanamo Bay became a suicide bomber in one of three suicide attacks last month in the Iraqi city of Mosul, according to the U.S. military. Officials identified the man as Abdullah Salim Ali al-Ajmi, released in 2005 after spending three years at Guantanamo, the New…

May 8, 2008 1:57 PM CDT

Fearing Tapped Phone Calls, Gitmo Lawyers Seek Confirmation

Several lawyers who represent Guantanamo detainees have changed the way they practice law because of concerns that the government is listening in to all of their phone conversations. One lawyer got a new phone because of concerns it had been wiretapped, the New York Times reports. Another sometimes asks a…

May 7, 2008 5:40 PM CDT

Ashcroft & Yoo to Testify in Hearings; House Panel Subpoenas Top Cheney Aide

A House panel is moving ahead with efforts to force testimony by those believed to have played leading roles in helping the Bush administration craft aggressive interrogation policies for terrorism suspects. Former Attorney General John Ashcroft and John Yoo, a former Justice Department lawyer who wrote an interrogation memo that…

May 6, 2008 6:12 PM CDT

Sept. 11 Cases Unlikely to Reach Trial at Guantanamo This Year

Some Guantanamo detainees have been in court as they were arraigned or their lawyers argued motions, but none has yet seen a jury trial. That isn’t likely to change anytime soon for suspects in the Sept. 11 attacks, the Washington Post reports. Many experts believe the first trials for these…

May 6, 2008 1:27 PM CDT