Cross-posted on Balkinization and Scotusblog Since Justice Stevens announced his intention to retire, discussions about what his departure will mean for the Court have regularly noted his military service in World War II. The justice enlisted the day before the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor (and has joked about how the enemy responded to the news immediately). There is little...
Given our past discussions about State Department Legal Adviser Harold Koh on this list, I thought I'd pass along word of an upcoming event some might find of interest. My colleagues at the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Law and National Security are hosting a breakfast discussion with Koh this coming Tuesday, March 16, from 8:00-9:00 a.m. ...
Cross-posted at Balkinization This morning’s papers bring news from anonymous administration officials that “President Obama's advisers are nearing a recommendation that Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the self-proclaimed mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, be prosecuted in a military tribunal.” See The Post’s story here. While I always take such preview reports with a grain of salt (is it an official...
Cross-posted at Balkinization Earlier this term, the Supreme Court granted certiorari to decide the latest issue in the sad case of the Uighurs still held at Guantanamo Bay after having been cleared of “enemy combatant” status by both Bush and Obama Administrations. U.S. treaty obligations restricting the ‘refoulement’ of individuals to countries where they’re likely to face torture have effectively...
Cross-posted at Balkinization This is a post about politics, not law. How could it be otherwise in engaging the public debate these days over the chronic cluster of post-9/11 terrorist detention, interrogation and trial issues? Demagoguery by Mitch McConnell and his Republican cohort over the Administration’s exactly right and entirely unremarkable decision to bring criminal charges against would-be underwear...
Cross-posted at Balkinization Ok, the headline is a bit misleading. It’s only two justices – Scalia and Thomas – who, in dissenting from a denial of certiorari by the Supreme Court this week, argued that the Court should settle once and for all whether detainees can invoke the Geneva Conventions in federal court. Lyle Denniston, as usual, reports the dissent-from-denial here,...
Cross-posted at Balkinization The new year starts with no shortage of Gitmo-related matters to blog about, starting with today’s important decision from a panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling (for the first time) on the merits of one of the few dozen decided Gitmo habeas petitions. The ruling, affirming the lower court’s decision to deny habeas to...
Cross-posted at Balkinization Nothing like Friday afternoon with the President overseas for a little news: The men accused of conspiring to commit the 9/11 attacks will be tried in federal court in New York City. Five other men, including a man accused of involvement in the USS Cole bombing in 2000, will face trial before new and improved (if not...
From our friends at George Washington Law School: The George Washington University International Law Review is now accepting submissions of book reviews for publication in Volumes 41 and 42. Book reviews should be written on a recent or forthcoming book discussing a timely issue in international law. Word count should not exceed 9000 words. Submissions must be in Microsoft Word (.doc)...
Cross-posted at Balkinization Here follows a revised version of the blog I posted earlier today. It turns out the final version of the legislation that passed the House was largely untouched after all. The full text of the mammoth Defense Authorization Bill in which the military commissions legislation is included is available here; the military commissions provisions are found...
In something of a surprise move, the Supreme Court decided today to grant cert in Kiyemba v. Obama – an enormously important case about whether or not the federal courts have the power to order Guantanamo detainees (whose writs of habeas corpus have been granted) released into the United States. The NYTimes story is here. The Justice Department’s statement on...
Cross-Posted at Balkinization I feel as though I should start by apologizing from my mini-blogging hiatus. Nothing like prepping a new course to distract one from the trials of law outside the classroom. Thanks to my Opinio Juris colleagues Julian Ku and Ken Anderson, as well as Ben Wittes, among others, there’s ample reason for re-engaging. As Julian and Ken have...
