Sahr MuhammedAlly : "On January 20th, President-elect Barack Obama will inherit the responsibility for thousands of detainees being held by the United States in Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay, and Iraq. Obama has already pledged to close Guantanamo, and the outgoing Bush Administration has entered into a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with the Iraqi government, which [...]
A military judge Friday rejected a motion by the Pentagon's chief prosecutor at Guantanamo Bay to delay the military commission hearing of the five detainees being held as 9/11 conspirators , set for Monday. Army Col. Lawrence J. Morris requested the delay in part because of uncertainty over the future of the US military commissions [...]
JURIST Guest Columnist Marc Falkoff of Northern Illinois University College of Law says that recent release orders, statements by some military lawyers and judges, and the military's own admission of detention mistakes all confirm that the only way for the Obama administration to restore our legal system's legitimacy in the eyes of the world will [...]
The US Supreme Court granted certiorari Friday in six cases. In Forest Grove School District, Petitioner v. T. A. , the Court will consider whether the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) permits a tuition reimbursement award against a school district and in favor of parents who unilaterally place their child in private school, where [...]
Outgoing Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director Michael Hayden during a Thursday press conference defended the controversial interrogation techniques used to gather information in the "war on terror." Hayden strongly defended the CIA-termed "enhanced interrogation techniques," including waterboarding , a practice Hayden banned from use in 2006. While admitting these interrogation tactics were harsh and coercive, [...]
In Re: Directives * Pursuant to Section 105B of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review, August 22, 2008 . Read the full text of the opinion . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.
The Chairman-Designate of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Mary Schapiro on Thursday expressed her commitment to reinvigorate enforcement at the SEC during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs . Schapiro said that "it is imperative that the SEC be given the resources and the support it needs [...]
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Thursday ruled in favor of French publishers Olivier Orban and Xavier de Bartillat who were convicted in France in 2002 of defending war crimes and aiding and abetting that offense, respectively. The court held that their prior conviction, based on the publication of the book Services Spéciaux [...]
The US federal government acted within the Constitution when it compelled a telecommunications company to assist in warrantless surveillance of certain customers, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review (FISC) said in a ruling released Thursday. The redacted decision, dated August 22, 2008, was a response to the unnamed firm's challenge to government demands made [...]
The US has not formally asked the European Union (EU) to accept detainees from Guantanamo Bay following US President-elect Barack Obama's planned closing of the facility, according to a Thursday statement from European Commission vice president Jacques Barrot during the Informal Meeting of Ministers for Justice and Home Affairs in Prague. Closing the facility will [...]
