That’s the word from The Miami Herald’s Carol Rosenberg. She also reports that the sworn-but-never-referred military commission charges against Faiz al Kandari, one of two Kuwaitis still held at Guantanamo, were dismissed without prejudice today.
You probably have been saying to yourself, all morning and afternoon, “when will we ever hear argument on motion AE40, the defense’s request to compel funding for a Yemeni defense investigator?” Your wait is over.
Judge Pohl’s prior ruling visibly … Read more »
Lunch ends, and we return to argue over AE 038 – or, as better known to docket-watchers, the defense’s motion to compel the timely translation of discovery into Arabic. Reyes begins by informing the court that as of January, the … Read more »
Continuing with his discovery blitz, Judge Pohl turns next to AE 044, a defense motion to compel the production of unredacted classified discovery.
Lt. Cmdr. Stephen Reyes argues for the defense that the defense has received thousands of pages of … Read more »
Judge Pohl calls the commission back to order at 11:00 am to discuss AE 054 and AE 057–two motions to compel discovery from potential witnesses in Yemen and the U.A.E.
At the in-chambers conference, Judge Pohl explains, the parties discussed … Read more »
Having lost the reconsideration motion, the defense then marches onward – nominally, to the defense’s next motion, AE42, its request to extend deadlines to submit a defense theory of the case under MCRE 505. But Kammen is sure to add … Read more »
The court next turns to the issue, which it heard a couple of months ago, of whether it has the authority to hear a defense motion to reconsider any decision to accept Rule 505 evidence substitutions. The statute is … Read more »
The hearing begins again at 9:18. Judge Pohl enters and announces that he has held a meeting in chambers with counsel to discuss letters rogatory, which he will discuss on the record later. The other issue they discussed, he says, … Read more »
The day’s final issue is a logistical one. In its motion AE56, the Government asks to take some depositions in Yemen. Judge Pohl has some hesitation here, and says as much. He nevertheless asks for clarity, as he has not … Read more »
Break’s over, y’all. It’s Bill of Attainder time at Guantanamo.
Paradis begins this longest of long-shot motions by identifying his legal view of the federal ban on bills of attainder. The ban’s essence, he says, is that it is not … Read more »
Next up are AE 49 and AE 51–the defense’s two broadsides against the charge of terrorism as a war crime. Paradis says that this offense, like conspiracy, lies beyond the jurisdiction of the commission and presents the same brand of … Read more »
Well, the prosecution and defense don’t agree about much–but they both love Lawfare.
Judge Pohl turns next to defense motion AE 048, which argues that conspiracy is not a valid charge before a commission, as it is not a … Read more »
The commission convenes against at 2:10 pm for a surprise extra argument.
Judge Pohl begins by saying that if either party wants to put on the record material from the in-chambers meeting yesterday, they should speak up.
Unsurpringingly, one of … Read more »
Judge Pohl then announces that he wants to switch gears and deal with Rule 505 and closure issues now. The government, he asks prosecutor Joanna Baltes, wants an in camera hearing to talk about whether to close a later hearing … Read more »
Before we tell you about the outpouring of love that Lawfare is getting at the Nashiri hearings (stay tuned for that!), we’ve a bunch of other matters to report.
The court now turns to the first of the constitutional questions … Read more »
Following his non-resolution of the conflicts issue, Judge Pohl announces a kind of schedule for the hearing. He will, he says, begin with the constitutional issues, then handle discovery issues, then consider classified evidence issues. Then, shortly before lunch, he … Read more »
Military Judge Col. James L. Pohl opens the hearing at around 9:10 am announcing that Brig. General Mark Martins, the chief prosecutor for military commissions, has joined the prosecution table. Judge Pohl then announces that he will take up first … Read more »
We’re back in the dark room staring at a wall. The Wall today is playing host to the Al-Nashiri marathon–a three day orgy of pre-trial motions on everything from shackling to the history of conspiracy as a war crime. … Read more »
To the list of significant motions to be argued tomorrow during the motions hearing in Al-Nashiri, add this: the defense’s contention that the charge of conspiracy is beyond the commission’s jurisdiction, and must therefore be dismissed. Al-Nashiri has paired … Read more »
One motion to keep an eye on during the upcoming commission session in United States v. Al-Nashiri: the defense’s request for the Commission to order Guantanamo officials to permit Al-Nashiri to meet with his attorneys without being shackled “in any … Read more »
Judging by the docket, we are in for a lengthy motions hearing starting tomorrow morning in United States v. Abd al-Rahim Hussein Mohammed Abdu Al-Nashiri — the capital military commission case alleging Al-Nashiri’s participation in attacks on the U.S.S. Cole … Read more »
Friday, May 17, 2013
The Department of Justice’s Inspector General released an interim report on the Department’s handling of “known or suspected” terrorists who have entered the government’s witness protection program. The report found, among other things, that information on some program participants had not been turned over to no-fly list authorities; and, that two such people could not be located—though one… Read more »
