Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Given Ben’s report on the oral argument, today’s fairly cryptic D.C. Circuit opinion in al-Zahrani v. Rodriguez, throwing out a damages suit arising out of the deaths of several inmates at Guantanamo, is hardly surprising. Writing for a himself and Judges Williams and Randolph, Chief Judge Sentelle held that the plaintiffs’ claims are barred by [...]
Filed in Constitutional Rights, Detention, Detention: Law of: D.C. Circuit Development, Guantanamo: Litigation, Guantanamo: Litigation: D.C. Circuit, Interrogation: Interrogation Abuses: Civil Liability
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Also tagged A. Raymond Randolph, Al Zahrani v. Rodriguez, Bivens, David Sentelle, Military Commissions Act, Minneci v. Pollard, Rasul II
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Thursday, October 6, 2011
I’m not going to do a full oral argument summary of this morning’s case before the D.C. Circuit, Al Zahrani v. Rodriguez, since it was not a habeas merits case. And the issue it raises, whether the families of detainees who died at Guantanamo can bring a Bivens actions in connection with the detention and alleged [...]
Filed in Alien Tort Statute, Alien Tort Statute: Litigation, Detention, Detention: Law of, Detention: Law of: D.C. Circuit Development, Guantanamo, Guantanamo: Litigation, Guantanamo: Litigation: D.C. Circuit
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Also tagged A. Raymond Randolph, Al Zahrani, Al Zahrani v. Rodriguez, Bivens, Boumediene, Center for Constitutional Rights, David Sentelle, Pardiss Kebriaei, Robert Loeb, Sullivan & Cromwell
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The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments on Thursday in the case of Al-Zahrani v. Rodriguez, which–believe it or not–is not a Guantanamo habeas case. It is, however, a Guantanamo case–and the only one that has ever gotten me labeled “The Worst Possible Person in the World.” (My life has few distinctions, but [...]
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 wrote last month, I suppose I should declare that my Lawfare account was hacked and I never [...]
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 reaching that outcome, Judges Tatel, Garland and Williams concluded that the district court’s factual findings [...]
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 going to go out on limb–way, way, way out on a limb–and do the unthinkable: [...]
Monday, February 28, 2011
Ever since the D.C. Circuit last week handed down its per curiam opinionlet in Al Warafi, I have been puzzling over this brief, unpublished order. I have begun to think it may be more important that I initially understood—and, specifically, that it may constitute a significant development in the D.C. Circuit’s consideration of the relationship [...]
Filed in Detention, Detention: Law of, Detention: Law of: D.C. Circuit Development, Guantanamo, Guantanamo: Litigation, Guantanamo: Litigation: D.C. Circuit
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Also tagged Al Bihani, Al Warafi, Douglas Ginsburg, Merrick Garland, Military Commissions Act, Royce Lamberth
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Tuesday, February 22, 2011
In just over two weeks following oral argument, the D.C. Circuit today issued its opinion in Al Warafi v. Obama. The panel affirmed Judge Lamberth’s decision in part, but also remanded in part. Al Warafi is the habeas merits case that raised, for the first time, questions about the scope of the government’s detention authority [...]
Lawfare readers, let my devotion to you never be questioned. To bring you this here summary of today’s oral argument in Mahktar Al-Warafi v. Barack Obama, I have had to engage in a mortification of the flesh. As the court was not sticking to schedule today, I had to sit through the entire, extended dance [...]
Tomorrow morning the D.C. Circuit will hear oral argument in Al Warafi v. Obama, a Guantánamo merits appeal that challenges Judge Lamberth’s March 2010 decision denying habeas relief to petitioner Mukhtar Yahia Naji Al Warafi. In addition to fairly typical clear-error factual questions, Al Warafi presents a few new legal questions for the D.C. Circuit. [...]
Filed in Detention, Detention: Law of, Detention: Law of: D.C. Circuit Development, Guantanamo, Guantanamo: Litigation, Guantanamo: Litigation: D.C. Circuit
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Also tagged Al Warafi, Douglas Ginsburg, Geneva Convention, Hamdi, Lowell Sturgill, Merrick Garland, Roger Ford, Royce Lamberth, Salahi
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Monday, December 20, 2010
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, Garland, and Williams. Public briefs can be found here. Abdah v. Obama (Uthman): Oral argument will be February [...]
Filed in Detention, Detention: Law of, Detention: Law of: D.C. Circuit Development, Guantanamo, Guantanamo: Litigation, Guantanamo: Litigation: D.C. Circuit
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Also tagged Al Abdah, Al Warafi, Brett Kavanaugh, David Tatel, Douglas Ginsburg, Esmail, Janice Rogers Brown, Laurence Silberman, Merrick Garland, Thomas Griffith, Uthman
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Tuesday, November 9, 2010
They say you can’t tell where an appeals panel is headed based on the oral argument. Sometimes you can. I will go out on a limb on the one I attended today: I will eat my computer if the D.C. Circuit affirms Judge Ricardo Urbina’s decision in Hatim v. Obama. After watching the brief public portion [...]
Filed in AUMF, AUMF: Scope and Reach, Detention, Detention: Law of, Detention: Law of: D.C. Circuit Development, Guantanamo, Guantanamo: Litigation, Guantanamo: Litigation: D.C. Circuit, Terrorism Investigations, Terrorism Trials
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Also tagged A. Raymond Randolph, Al Adahi, Al Bihani, Al Farouq, Awad, Bensayah, Brian Foster, Hatim, Hatim v. Obama, Ricardo Urbina, Salahi, Sharon Swingle, Uighurs
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(by Larkin Reynolds and Benjamin Wittes) Tomorrow, D.C. Circuit Judges Karen LeCraft Henderson, A. Raymond Randolph, and Stephen Williams will hear oral argument in Hatim v. Obama, a habeas merits appeal of some potential importance. The case is a government appeal from Judge Ricardo Urbina’s district court decision granting the writ to Saleh Hatim, a Yemeni national. [...]
Filed in AUMF, AUMF: Scope and Reach, Detention, Detention: Law of, Detention: Law of: D.C. Circuit Development, Guantanamo, Guantanamo: Litigation, Guantanamo: Litigation: D.C. Circuit, International Law, International Law: LOAC, International Law: LOAC: Detention
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Also tagged A. Raymond Randolph, Al Adahi, Al Bihani, Al Farouq, Al Odah, Anam, Awad, Karen LeCraft Henderson, Ricardo Urbina, Salahi, Saleh Hatim
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Thursday, November 4, 2010
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 cases in the sense of raising issues that have broad implications for the disposition of [...]
Filed in Detention, Detention: Law of, Detention: Law of: D.C. Circuit Development, Guantanamo, Guantanamo: Litigation, Guantanamo: Litigation: D.C. Circuit
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Also tagged Al Alwi, Bensayah, Boumediene, Combatant Status Review Tribunal, David Tatel, Merrick Garland, Omar Sayef Group, Ramzi Kassem, Richard Leon, Sarang Damle
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Tuesday, November 2, 2010
(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 Kassem will argue for the petitioner, and Sarang Damle will argue for the government. The case [...]
Filed in Detention, Detention: Law of, Detention: Law of: D.C. Circuit Development, Guantanamo, Guantanamo: Litigation, Guantanamo: Litigation: D.C. Circuit, Terrorism Investigations
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Also tagged Al Alwi, Boumediene, David Tatel, Merrick Garland, Omar Sayef Group, Ramzi Kassem, Richard Leon, Sarang Damle
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Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Next Tuesday, November 9th, the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral argument in Hatim v. Obama, a habeas merits appeal brought by the government. The court announced today that argument will “proceed first in open session, followed, if necessary, by a classified session closed to the public.” As in Al Alwi, to [...]
Filed in Detention, Detention: Law of, Detention: Law of: D.C. Circuit Development, Guantanamo, Guantanamo: Litigation, Guantanamo: Litigation: D.C. Circuit
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Also tagged A. Raymond Randolph, Al Alwi, Brian Foster, Hatim, Hatim v. Obama, Karen LeCraft Henderson, Sharon Swingle
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Thursday, October 28, 2010
Next Thursday, November 4th, the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral argument in Al Alwi v. Obama, a habeas merits appeal. The court announced yesterday that argument will “proceed first in open session, followed, if necessary, by a classified session closed to the public.” The order is consistent with the government’s position, though the [...]
…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. Oral argument is scheduled for November 4 in front of a panel including Judges David Tatel, Merrick Garland, and Stephen Williams.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
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 November 4 in front of a panel including Judges David Tatel, Merrick Garland, and Stephen [...]
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
It is now well known that the Obama administration has embraced almost all of the Bush administration’s counterterrorism policies without substantial modification. One such policy is military detention without trial. The Obama administration has argued, however, that its legal rationale for military detention is different than the Bush administration legal rationale. State Department Legal Advisor Harold Koh described [...]
Filed in AUMF, AUMF: Scope and Reach, Detention, Detention: Law of, Detention: Operations in Afghanistan, Guantanamo, International Law, International Law: LOAC, International Law: LOAC: Detention
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Also tagged Al Bihani, Al Marri, Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, Bagram, Brett Kavanaugh, Detainee Treatment Act, Harold Koh, Ingrid Detter, New York Times, Padilla, Quirin, Reggie Walton, Uighurs, Yasser Hamdi, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer
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Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Judge Brown’s statement in the Al-Bihani rehearing denial sparks three thoughts: 1. Judge Brown complains that the effect of the rehearing denial – especially the non-panel judges’ statement that the panel’s law-of-war analysis was “not necessary to the disposition of the merits – is to “muddy” the panel holding that international law “does [...]
Filed in Detention, Detention: Law of, Detention: Law of: D.C. Circuit Development, Guantanamo, Guantanamo: Litigation, International Law, International Law: LOAC, International Law: LOAC: Detention
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Also tagged Al Bihani, Brett Kavanaugh, Hamdi, Janice Rogers Brown
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Friday, September 3, 2010
Denials of petitions for rehearing en banc are usually dull affairs, but not so the 113-page denial the D.C. Circuit issued two days ago in Al-Bihani v. Obama. The original panel opinion rejected Al-Bihani’s habeas petition on the ground that his acknowledged participation in a Taliban-affiliated paramilitary group justified his military detention pursuant to the [...]
Filed in Detention, Detention: Law of, Detention: Law of: D.C. Circuit Development, Guantanamo, Guantanamo: Litigation, Guantanamo: Litigation: D.C. Circuit, International Law, International Law: LOAC, International Law: LOAC: Detention
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Also tagged Al Bihani, Brett Kavanaugh, Hamdi, Janice Rogers Brown
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Thursday, September 2, 2010
The D.C. Circuit’s 113-pages of non-opinion this week, in which it declined to rehear en banc an earlier panel decision in the Al Bihani case, warrants reflection at a number of levels. I will leave for Jack Goldsmith the very rich subject of the judges’ competing opinions on the relationship between international law and the AUMF–opinions for which Jack’s [...]
