Whoa. This is very big news—though what it means is far less clear.
The D.C. Circuit has granted the government’s petition for rehearing en banc in the military commission case of U.S. v. Al-Bahlul. It thus appears that a majority … Read more »
Brian Foster of Covington & Burling, responds to my comments on his earlier guest post as follows:
I don’t derive a double standard merely from your sympathy for the instinct behind the Latif majority’s factual assessment. I’m focusing on the
Brian Foster of Covington & Burling, who represents several Guantanamo detainees, writes in with the following comments on my defense of CIA lawyer Jonathan Fredman—and the case of his former client, Adnan Latif:
I’m interested in the basis and
Judge Garland’s persuasive opinion in the ACLU FOIA case is important but narrow, and its significance for intelligence community transparency is entirely unclear.
Recall that the CIA had refused to respond to the ACLU request for records pertaining to drone … Read more »
Back in January, we devoted a fair amount of attention to the DOJ Supplemental Brief in the al-Bahlul military commission appeal–and the rather significant internal debate within the Administration about whether to accept the D.C. Circuit’s ruling in Hamdan II… Read more »
Remember the Guantanamo detention case of Hentif v. Obama?
In 2011, the government convinced the district court to reject Fadhel Hussein Saleh Hentif’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus. In July of 2012, the district judge noted, on … Read more »
Ben beat me to it, but this morning, the D.C Circuit issued a terse order removing United States v. al Bahlul (the “other” military commission appeal) from its argument calendar (it was scheduled to be argued before Judges Henderson, … Read more »
A three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit (Judges Tatel, Garland and Griffith) has rejected the CIA’s motion to remand in ACLU v. CIA, the FOIA action regarding the Obama Administration’s targeted killing program. The appeal thus will be argued on … Read more »
Ali Hamza Ahmad Suliman Al Bahlul has filed his reply brief in his appeal of his military commission conviction in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. You’ll recall that Al Bahul requested his appeal to … Read more »
I actually don’t have much to say, now that it’s here, on the New York Times editorial on the detention case cert denials. It is almost exactly the editorial I predicted the Times would run (“the inevitable editorial bashing the … Read more »
Raffaela is correct that there’s nothing terribly surprising in the D.C. Circuit’s Suleiman opinion, which was publicly released yesterday. In fact, the brief opinion–written by Judge Thomas Griffith for himself and Judges Merrick Garland and David Tatel–is notable chiefly … Read more »
At least, Adam Liptak does in a well-worth-reading column about Latif. Take that, editorial staff!
On a more serious note, here’s the money quote:
Latif is the next great Guantánamo case–whether the Supreme Court agrees to hear it or
Daphne Eviatar of Human Rights First writes in with the following comments on Latif and the detention provisions of the NDAA:
There’s already been great commentary on the Latif case here from Ben, Sabin Willett and others. On Sunday
Sabin Willett, who represented the Guantanamo Uighurs in Parhat and Kiyemba, writes in with the following comments about Latif:
It is not hyperventilation to say, as so many have said, that Latif guts Boumediene, because — trust
When we last looked in on Al Maqaleh v. Gates, the case seeking to extend the right to federal habeas review for non-Afghan detainees held in the U.S.-controlled detention facility in Afghanistan, the petitioners and the government were briefing … Read more »
The D.C. Circuit strongly disfavors en banc review. For longstanding cultural reasons, the court avoids en bancs whenever possible. This is generally a good thing. En bancs can be ugly; they stress a court’s collegiality. The Latif case, however, should … Read more »
The more I study the D.C. Circuit decision in Latif, the more important I think it is, and the more regrettable I think it probably is. I’m going to spread this out over two posts. In this one, which … Read more »
Peter Margulies of Roger Williams Law School writes in with the following critique of the Latif decision and praise of Judge David Tatel’s dissent. While I don’t agree with every aspect of this analysis, I agree with a great deal … Read more »
I have now read the entirety of Latif, and I am–quite honestly–not entirely sure what to make of it. For one thing, the redactions are extensive, far more so than in the normal D.C. Circuit habeas case. They involve … Read more »
The D.C. Circuit appears to have ruled in the case of Adnan Farhan Abd Al Latif (which Larkin previewed here, the briefs from which she posted here, the argument in which she and I covered here). Latif … Read more »
Friday afternoon’s oral argument in Suleiman saw pretty even questioning of counsel for both sides from an interested panel. Judges Merrick Garland, Thomas Griffith and David Tatel pressed Abdulrahman Abdou Abou Alghaith Suleiman’s lawyer on the petitioner’s apparent waiver of … Read more »
The next episode in the D.C. Circuit’s Guantanamo detention saga: Suleiman v. Obama (Case No. 10-5292), an appeal set for oral argument this Friday before the D.C. Circuit. UPDATE: the oral argument is set for 2 p.m.
The case likely … Read more »
I normally have a pretty good read on the D.C. Circuit in habeas cases. Not this time. Al Alwi, one of the decisions which Wells posted yesterday, took me rather by surprise.
To be true to what I … Read more »
Today, the D.C. Circuit handed down opinions in two detainee cases, Al-Alwi v. Obama and Gul v. Obama.
***
The first affirms the decision of the district court, which found Al-Alwi lawfully detained by a preponderance of the evidence. In … Read more »
The last time we covered the progress of the case that I’ll call Al Maqaleh v. Obama II (to distinguish from the first time this case was considered in 2008-2010, Al Maqaleh I), Judge Bates had just granted the … Read more »
On Friday, the DC Circuit held, in a 2-1 panel decision in Doe v. ExxonMobil, that corporations may be held liable under the Alien Tort Statute, creating a decisive circuit split with the Second Circuit’s decision in Kiobel last … Read more »
In the wake of the Almerfedi decision, the question necessarily arises whether any detainee might plausibly expect to prevail in front of the D.C. Circuit. In the defense bar, disgusted, head-shaking despair is the order of the day. So I’m … Read more »
The D.C. Circuit also heard oral arguments today in El Falesteny v. Obama, some sort of Guantanamo case that is kept so tightly under seal that even the subject matter of the appeal seems to be a mystery. The … Read more »
Today the D.C. Circuit heard oral argument in Gul v. Obama and Hamad v. Obama, the consolidated appeals that ask whether a federal district court has jurisdiction to consider the claims of habeas petitioners Nazar Gul and Adel Hassan … Read more »
Tomorrow morning, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments in Abdah v. Barack Obama (Al Latif) (No. 10-5319). The argument is slated to proceed before Judges Karen LeCraft Henderson, David Tatel, and Janice Rogers Brown—first in open session, … Read more »
(By Benjamin Wittes and Larkin Reynolds)
The D.C. Circuit has a remarkable collection of talent. I am constantly amazed at how well-versed its judges are in the record in the cases I watch and the wealth of material they draw … Read more »
Rising before the D.C. Circuit this morning on behalf of Yasein Khasem Mohammad Esmail, Danielle Barbour faces some non-trivial problems. She has bad facts, a hostile panel, a relatively solid-seeming lower-court opinion to attack, a client who–the lower court … Read more »
Yesterday the D.C. Circuit denied a petition for initial hearing en banc in Abdah v. Obama (No. 05-5224), a case involving the same type of pre-transfer notice orders as those at issue in Kiyemba II. Kiyemba II, readers may … Read more »
A few of the habeas merits appeals before the D.C. Circuit were just scheduled for oral argument. Here are the dates and panel assignments:
Al Warafi v. Obama: Oral argument will be held February 7, 2010 before judges Ginsburg, … Read more »
(By Robert Chesney and Benjamin Wittes)
This morning the D.C. Circuit vacated and remanded a decision by former U.S. District Judge James Robertson, granting habeas relief to Mohammedou Salahi. The opinion, written by Judge Tatel and joined by Chief Judge … Read more »
The D.C. Circuit just released its opinion in Salahi v. Obama, the first Guantánamo merits appeal of this term. The panel of Judges David Sentelle, David Tatel, and Janice Rogers Brown vacated the district court’s opinion granting habeas to … Read more »
I just returned from the D.C. Circuit’s Al Alwi oral argument–or, at least, the portion of it that the court conducted in open session. Here is a quick and dirty summary.
Al Alwi is not one of the important Guantanamo … Read more »
(with Benjamin Wittes)
On Thursday, D.C. Circuit Judges David Tatel, Merrick Garland, and Stephen Williams will hear oral arguments in Al Alwi v. Obama. The argument will proceed in open session, followed by a closed session if necessary. Ramzi … Read more »
Last week I wrote that Barhoumi v. Obama, one of the government’s D.C. Circuit wins, had an outcome that was tentative because of underlying material the government had failed to produce in the district court. Here are the documents … Read more »
…can be found here. Al Alwi, I should note, is not to be confused with Al Aulaqi. This is a minor Guantanamo case. Here is the petitioner’s merits brief. And here is the government’s brief. … Read more »
A few weeks ago, I posted a group of briefs in pending Guantanamo habeas appeals. At the time, only the petitioner’s brief in Al Alwi was available. The government’s brief is now available as well. Oral argument is scheduled for … Read more »
I tried to take good notes at the Salahi oral argument this morning. The following is a crude summary of the argument, the transcript of which I will post when it becomes available. Bottom line: Expect a remand to the … Read more »
I posted earlier a summary by Larkin Reynolds of the coming argument in Salahi v. Obama–which the D.C. Circuit is hearing on Friday. I also posted the briefs. I think this case is a big deal, one that … Read more »
Larkin Reynolds, a Brookings legal fellow who is working with Bobby and me on the next edition of our habeas report, offers a preview of the next big D.C. Circuit case:
The first Guantánamo case scheduled for oral argument
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 »
