Federal Judiciary

War crimes trial may go ahead

By Akin Gump Supreme Court Practice Group

The Supreme Court, without noted dissents, on Friday refused to block the start next Tuesday of a war crimes trial of a young Canadian detainee at Guantanamo Bay — Omar Khadr.  The brief order, noting that Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., had submitted the issue to the full Court, gave no explanation fpr tje refisa;.  Because Justice-designate Elena Kagan has not yet taken the oath of office, she would not have taken part in Friday’s action.  (She will become a Justice tomorrow afternoon.)

After the D.C. Circuit Court on Wednesday turned down all of Khadr’s pleas to delay the start of his trial before a military commission, his lawyers submitted a new application (10A155), seeking to postpone the trial for two weeks so that the counsel could prepare a petition for the Justices to review the Circuit Court’s orders.   (Khadr’s counsel has dismissed an earlier plea to the Supreme Court to order the Circuit Court to act — docket 10-5691).  Friday’s order does not bar his lawyers from filing a petition, but the trial will go forward despite his arguments that the commission system as changed by Congress last year is unconstitutional.

Full post as published by SCOTUSBLOG on August 06, 2010 (boomark / email).