written opinion in Boumediene v. Bush

* Judge Leon’s written opinion in Boumediene v. Bush (D.D.C. Nov. 20, 2008)

https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2004cv1166-276

Here is a brief overview of the opinion:

Judge Leon framed the question as follows, citing the Case Management Order he previously had issued: had the government presented proof sufficient to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the detainees were part of or supporting al Qaeda, the Taliban, or associated forces engaged in hostilities against the U.S. or its allies (including persons who committed belligerent acts or who “directly supported” hostilities).

The government argued that all 6 men planned to go to Afghanistan to fight against the US.  It also alleged that one of the men – Belkacem Bensayah – was an al Qaeda member who served a “facilitator” function (i.e., that he recruited fighters and assisted their transit to Afghanistan).  The government did not at this stage still contend that the men had plotted to attack the US embassy in Bosnia, nor that Bensayah was a financier as opposed to a “facilitator”.

Judge Leon orders release of 5 of 6 detainees in Boumediene

* Boumediene v. Bush (D.D.C. Nov. 20, 2008)

In the first habeas rulings on the merits in connection with GTMO, Judge Leon has ordered the release of 5 of the Boumediene petitioners on the grounds of insufficient evidence, while confirming the detainability of a 6th detainee.

Lyle Denniston (SCOTUSblog) has the details below:

Judge orders five detainees freed

Thursday, November 20th, 2008 12:21 pm | Lyle Denniston

U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon, in the first ruling to carry out the Supreme Court’s June decision on detainees’ rights, ordered the federal government to release five Guantanamo Bay detainees “forthwith.” The judge found, however, that the government had justified the continued imprisonment of a sixth detainee, Belkacem ben Sayah.

Bahlul sentenced to life; forthcoming scholarship

1.  al Bahlul sentenced to life

From DoD’s press release:

Detainee Sentenced To Life In Prison

A military commission sentenced today Ali Hamza Ahmad Suliman al Bahlul of Yemen to confinement for life for conspiracy, solicitation and providing material support to terrorism in violation of the Military Commissions Act of 2006. Bahlul will immediately begin serving his sentence of confinement at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

gtmo detainee database; forthcoming scholarship

1. GTMO detainee database

The New York Times has posted a database identifying Guantanamo detainees and providing links to the summaries of their CSRT proceedings:

http://int-shared1.ec2.nytimes.com/guantanamo/detainees/page/38

2. Forthcoming scholarship

“Legislating Clear-Statement Regimes in National-Security Law”

George Mason Law & Economics Research Paper No. 08-56

JONATHAN F. MITCHELL, University of Chicago Law Paper Requests – Public Law and Legal Theory, George Mason University – School of Law
Email: jmitchell@law.uchicago.edu

Judge Leon on the meaning of “enemy combatant”

* Boumediene v. Bush (D.D.C. Oct. 27, 2008)

Judge Leon has not yet issued a written ruling regarding the substantive scope of military detention authority in connection with his review of habeas petitions arising out of GTMO, but Lyle Denniston at SCOTUSblog reports that he did today issue an oral ruling to the effect that he intended to adopt the CSRT definition of an “enemy combatant” for this purpose.  The details appear below.

In re Guantanamo Bay Detainee Litigation

* In re Guantanamo Bay Detainee Litigation (D.D.C. Oct. 8, 2008)

Judge Urbina’s written ruling in connection with the Uighur detainees at GTMO appears below.

uighur detainees ordered released into US; forthcoming scholarship

1. Judge Urbina gives government until Friday to release Uighur detainees at GTMO into the US

Judge Urbina today ordered the government to release into the U.S. a group of Uighur detainees held at GTMO.  The government no longer categorizes the men as enemy combatants, but will not repatriate the men to China out of concern for how they would be treated there and has not yet been able to persuade a third country to accept them.

In re Guantanamo Detainee Litigation (D.D.C. Sep. 22, 2008)

* In re Guantanamo Detainee Litigation (D.D.C. Sep. 22, 2008)

In this brief opinion, Judge Hogan denies a request for access to certain medical information relating to a GTMO detainee, and for the court to order the government to alter the conditions of confinement for that detainee.  Section 7(a)(2) of the MCA strips federal courts of jurisdiction to hear challenges to conditions of confinement, and Judge Hogan noted that nothing in the Supreme Court’s Boumediene required the court not to comply with that provision.  The detainee, notably, did not directly challenge the constitutionality of section 7(a)(2).

The opinion appears here: http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/hogan-order-9-22-08.pdf