Anthony Clark Arend

From the January 17 DoD Press Release:
The Department of Defense announced today the transfer of six detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.  Four detainees were transferred to Iraq, one to Algeria and one to Afghanistan.  These detainees were determined to be eligible for departure following a comprehensive series of review processes.
The transfer is a demonstration of the United States’ desire not …

In case you missed this– Reuters reported:
Yemen freed Osama bin Laden’s former driver last week after he served out his prison term following his return in November from the American prison camp at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, his lawyer said Sunday.
“Salim Hamdan was released on Thursday to live with his family in Sana,” said the lawyer, Khaled al-Ansi. He said Mr. …

Bobby Chesney brings to our attention 6 OLC memos that were posted on the OLC website yesterday:

“PROTECTED PERSON” STATUS IN OCCUPIED IRAQ UNDER THE FOURTH GENEVA CONVENTION (March 18, 2004) (added 1/08/09)
STATUS OF TALIBAN FORCES UNDER ARTICLE 4 OF THE THIRD GENEVA CONVENTION OF 1949 (February 7, 2002) (added 1/08/09)
AUTHORITY OF THE PRESIDENT UNDER DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL …

From SCOTUSblog:
Voicing some concern over the government creating a “black hole” for detainees in a “law-free zone” at an overseas military base, a federal judge hinted on Wednesday that he may allow some of the prisoners the U.S. holds in Afghanistan to file court cases to test their captivity.
U.S. District Judge John D. Bates strongly implied that he thought some …

From SCOTUSblog:
U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon ruled on Tuesday that two Guantanam Bay detainees — nationals of Yemen and Tunisia — must remain prisoners of the U.S. military, finding that the government has proved that each is an “enemy combatant.”  In the most significant of the two separate rulings, the judge concluded that the government does not have to …

In case you missed it, the Executive Summary of the Senate Armed Services Committee Inquiry into the Treatment of Detainees in U.S. Custody can be found here. Some highlights ["U" means unclassified; bold is my emphasis added]:

(U) On February 7, 2002, President Bush signed a memorandum stating that the Third Geneva Convention did not apply to the conflict with al …

SCOTUSblog is reporting:

In a move with a potentially major impact on the federal courts, the Pentagon announced Thursday that Defense Secretary Robert Gates — who will continue to hold that post in the new Obama Administration — has ordered staff aides to draw up a plan for closing the military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
That facility is at …

Bobby Chesney reports:

* Al Marri v. Pucciarelli (08-368) – cert granted
The Supreme Court has granted cert in connection with the Fourth Circuit’s splintered en banc decision in Al-Marri, and thus is set to engage the questions whether the 9/18/01 AUMF authorizes—and if so whether the Constitution allows—military detention of a noncitizen seized in the U.S. in connection with allegations of …