Latest in Guantanamo: Litigation: D.C. Circuit
The latest appeal, one in a long line of many, raises again an interesting issue about whether the military commission convening authority is properly appointed under the U.S. Constitution.
The Justice Department asserted that hostilities between the U.S. and al-Qaeda are ongoing to justify the time it is taking to facilitate Khan’s resettlement, months after he completed his sentence.
On June 21, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit returned to the question of the constitutional rights possessed by the detainees remaining at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In particular, Khalid Ahmed Qassim asserted a Fifth Amendment due process right to see the classified information that allegedly supports his detention.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied Guantanamo Bay detainee Abdul Razak Ali's petition for an initial hearing en banc in Ali v. Trump et al. Ali, held at Guantanamo since June 2002, is an alleged al-Qaeda member born in Algeria and captured in Afghanistan. The order, along with a concurrence by Judge David Tatel and joined by Judge Cornelia Pillard, is posted in full below.
On Jan. 15, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit heard oral argument in Qassim v. Trump. This panel follows after the court’s denial on Khalid Ahmed Qassim’s initial request of hearing his appeal en banc.
On Tuesday, 9/11 plotter Khalid Sheikh Mohammed petitioned the D.C. Circuit for a writ of mandamus, asking that his trial by military commission be halted until the Court of Military Commissions Review appoints a panel to address contested issues in his case. The full document is below.
On Oct. 1, the following joint unclassified appendix and appellant brief were filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in Qassim v. Trump.
Joint Appendix (Unclassified)
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Colombia circuit denied the habeas petition of Guantanamo detainee Moath Hamza Ahmed al-Alawi, upholding the ruling of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that al-Alawi is an enemy combatant who can be lawfully detained under the authority of the 2001 AUMF.
On Tuesday, March 20, a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit will hear oral argument in Al-Alwi v. Trump, the case of Guantanamo detainee Moath Hamza Ahmed al-Alwi. Chief Judge Merrick Garland and Judges Karen Henderson and Thomas Griffith will review D.C. District Court Judge Richard Leon’s February 2017 dismissal of al-Alwi’s second habeas petition.
On Friday, military judge Col. Vance Spath filed a memorandum of opposition to plaintiff Brig. Gen. John G. Baker’s petition for writ of habeas corpus. You can view the full document here: