Wednesday, September 24, 2008

No Habeas Relief for Detainees on list to be released

When the U.S. Supreme Court released the decision in Boumediene in June and ordered that Habeas hearings be held promptly for the men at Guantanamo there was cautious optimism on the part of some (not me) that something might happen. One of the first things that happened at the district court level was that most of the judges allowed their cases to be transfered to senior judge Hogan to coordinate certain "common issues." My clients cases were included in that coordinated effort. Not much has happened since that time and certainly nothing good has happened. Now Judge Hogan has added to the misery of the prisoners by deciding that the government doesn't have to provide any information regarding those prisoners who have been cleared for release. No information means no hearing.... unless Judge Hogan surprises us and decides that since the government has cleared these men their habeas petitions can just be granted as uncontested...but somehow I doubt that. I guess he thinks since they have been "cleared" to be released they no longer have a need to have habeas hearings. Thing is, most of the men on the "cleared" list have been cleared for years with no end to their imprisonment in sight.
Justice American style.

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