Federal Judiciary

Today’s detainee case developments

By Akin Gump Supreme Court Practice Group

U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon ordered the release “forthwith” of five Bosnians now held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, but upheld the continuing detention of a sixth. His 14-page ruling is here. A Justice Department statement reacting to the decision is here.  Lyle’s post discussing the ruling is here.  The case is Boumediene, et al., v. Bush (District Court docket 04-1166).

Senior U.S. District Judge Thomas F. Hogan ordered lawyers for Guantanamo detainees to file by next Wednesday their responses t o the Justice Department’s sweeping challenge to the procedures Hogan has crafted for processing 113 habeas cases involving about 200 prisoners.  The Hogan order is here; a post discussing the challenge is here.  The order was issued in a variety of cases, including the leading group of cases (District Court docket 08-442).

A three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court held a 40-minute hearing on the Justice Department’s argument that the Supreme Court decision in Boumediene v. Bush has scuttled the Circuit Court system of civilian review of Pentagon detention decisions.  Circuit Judge Judith W. Rogers, who has been skeptical of many government maneuvers on detainee issues, dominated the questioning.  The Court did not indicate when it would rule.  The question of its jurisdiction to decide Detainee Treatment Act cases is now at issue in Bismullah v. Gates (Circuit docket 06-1197).

Full post as published by SCOTUSBLOG on November 20, 2008 (boomark / email).