The D.C. Circuit has handed down procedural orders in two Guantanamo detention cases.

The first grants a joint motion regarding Friday’s oral argument in Khairkhwa v. Obama.  The argument session will be open to the public, with a classified hearing to follow if necessary.

The second concerns Obaydulla v. Obama, in which the detainee has petitioned for re-hearing en banc.  Acting on its own motion, the court of appeals has ordered the government to respond to Obaydullah’s petition.  (The opposing party usually cannot respond to a re-hearing request unless the court says otherwise.)  That’s a good sign of interest in one or more of the detainee’s arguments—though, of course, it is not an indication one way or the other about whether the full court will hear the case once more.

What in the petition might interest a few judges on the court of appeals, if only a little bit?  Well, the petition does challenge Latif —both that ruling’s application in Obaydullah’s case, and its compatibility withBoumedieneand, most importantly, other detention decisions by the D.C. Circuit. . .

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