User:Nukerebel/Timeline of Legal Issues Relating to Detainees in the War on Terror

2001
September 11:
 * Big planes hit big buildings; shit hits fan.

September 14:
 * Congress passes the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists (AUMF), authorizing the president "to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organiza- tions, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons, in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States by such nations, organizations or persons."

November 13:
 * President Bush signs military order for detention, treatment and trial for persons captured in the war on terror.

November 24:
 * John Walker Lindh among Taliban fighters who surrender their weapons to coalition forces and are taken to Qala Jangi.

December 02:
 * John Walker Lindh recaptured with eighty other Taliban fighters at Qala Jangi.

December 03:
 * John Walker Lindh identified as a Taliban fighter in the prison at Mazar-i-Sharif.

December 14:
 * John Walker Lindh transferred to the U.S.S. Peleiu.

2002
January 11:
 * The first 20 prisoners arrive at the naval base in Guantanamo Bay.

February 05:
 * Indictment against John Walker Lindh unsealed.

February 19:
 * Rasul v. Bush filed in the D.C. Circuit Court.

February 21:
 * Federal judge dismisses a challenge to the detentions.

March 21:
 * The Bush administration announces new military tribunal regulations.

May 08:
 * Jose Padilla arrested on a sealed material witness warrant at O'Hare airport while returning from Zurich.

May 28:
 * A federal judge prohibits direct questioning of Guantanamo prisoners by attorneys for John Walker Lindh. Questions can be submitted and woven into interrogations, however.

June 09:
 * Jose Padilla transferred to military custody and subsequently brought the the brig at NWS Charleston.

June 11:
 * Hamdi v. Bush filed in XXXX

July 16:
 * John Walker Lindh pleads guilty to one count of providing service to the Taliban, a felony due to previously being named a terrorist organization, as well as to carrying explosives (grenades and rifle) while committing that felony. A 20 year sentence is expected.

2003
January 08:
 * Fourth Circuit Court rules against Hamdi saying that the executive branch is due great deference regarding conduct of the war on terror.

January 09:
 * Federal government asks a federal judge to reverse his ruling allowing Jose Padilla access to an attorney, saying that Padilla is undergoing interrogation and that introducing an attorney to the process would "set back his interrogations by months, if not derail the process permanently."

March XX:
 * Federal appeals court rules that the detainees have no legal rights in the United States. (Read the Ruling)

July 03:
 * President Bush designates six suspected al Qaeda terrorists eligible for military tribunals -- the first since World War II.

November 10:
 * Supreme Court grants cert in Rasul v. Bush. Al Odah v. U.S. is combined with this case for the purpose of deciding if foreign nationals held in Guantanamo Bay are entitled to habeas relief.

November 17:
 * Federal appellate court of Appeals, Second Circuit, hears arguments regarding Jose Padilla's continued detention by the military.

December 03:
 * Australian detainee David Hicks becomes the first prisoner to be given a lawyer.

December 18: Jose Padilla to be released from military custody within thirty days.
 * Federal Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, orders
 * Newman has standing to bring suit as Next Friend
 * 2d Cir has jurisdiction to issue writ despite Padilla no longer being within physical jurisdiction of the court
 * Secretary Rumsfeld is the proper respondent in Padilla's suit
 * President lacks inherent constitutional authority as Commander-in- Chief to detain American citizens on American soil outside a zone of combat

2004
February 11:
 * The Pentagon announces that it will allow Jose Padilla access to counsel "as a matter of discretion and military authority," stating that "such access is not required by domestic or international law and should not be treated as a precedent."

June 10:
 * David Hicks, an Australian national, is formally charged with "conspiracy to commit war crimes, attempted murder by an unprivileged belligerent, and aiding the enemy," with his case to appear before a military tribunal. Hicks is the third person to be formally charged as such.

June 28:
 * Supreme Court rules 6-3 in Rasul v. Bush that Guantanamo Bay detainees are entitles to habeas relief and can use federal court to challenge their captivity, reversing the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. (542 U.S. 466 (2004))


 * Supreme Court rules 6-3 in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld that Hamdi, a U.S. citizen, had the right to contest his detention before a neutral decision maker; the executive branch does not have sole power to designate a citizen an enemy combatant.

July 7:
 * In response to Hamdi v. Rumsfeld and Rasul v. Bush, the Pentagon creates Combatant Status Review Tribunals to determine the combatant status of each person held in Guantanamo Bay. ( DOD Order Establishing Combatant Status Review Tribunal)

August 13:
 * Combatant Status Review Tribunals (CSRTs) start for the detainees. The tribunal involves three officers who present the unclassified summary evidence against the detainee and question him about his role in events. The three judge panel then decides whether the detainee is an enemy combatant or if he is releasable.

August 25:
 * David Hicks pleads not guilty to all charges before a military tribunal.

November 8:
 * U.S. District Judge James Robertson orders the Pentagon to halt the trial of detainee Salim Ahmed Hamdan who allegedly worked as Osama Bin Laden's driver, saying the military commissions are unlawful and cannot continue in their current form. (Post: Judge Says Detainees' Trials Are Unlawful (Nov. 9, 2004))

2005
February 28: June 13:
 * A federal judge rules that Jose Padilla cannot be maintained in military custody as an enemy combatant without charges being filed, and orders him released from military custody with 45 days.
 * Supreme Court declines to hear appeal by Jose Padilla that XXXXX.

July 15:
 * In Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals holds that a military tribunal meets the Geneva Conventions requirement for a "competent tribunal," and that Hamdan does not have right to seek redress under the Geneva Conventions in court. (415 F.3d 33 (2005))

November 7:
 * The Supreme Court grants certiorari in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld.

December XX:
 * Congress passes the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005, and it is signed by the President.

2006
January 04: Hamdan v. Rumsfeld
 * Supreme Court allows the transfer of Jose Padilla to a federal prison in Miami while awaiting civilian trial.

April 03:
 * Supreme Court declines to hear Padilla v. Hamft (05-553) on the basis that it is moot now that he is in civilian custody.

XXXX: Congress passes the Military Commissions Act of 2006

2007
March 05:
 * Appeal of Boumediene v. Bush filed with the Supreme Court.

June 29:
 * The Supreme Court grants certiorari for Boumediene v. Bush.

December 05:
 * Boumediene v. Bush argued before the Supreme Court. (Transcript)

2008
January 04:
 * Jose Padilla files suit against John Yoo for providing legal justification for his "unconstitutional confinement" and "gross physical and psychological abuse."

June 12:
 * The Supreme Court rules in Boumediene v. Bush, the Supreme Court holds that foreign nationals held in Guantanamo Bay can:
 * Petition federal courts for habeas relief; the Military Commissions Act violated the Suspension Clause
 * Be protected by the Fifth Amendment
 * Challenge the adequacy of judicial review provisions of the MCA before seeking to actually invoke review

2010
March 01:
 * The Supreme Court, in a per curium opinion, declines to answer the question at the heart of Kiyemba v. Obama: whether a federal district court has the power to order the release of prisoners held under executive order into the United States. The case is remanded back to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on the basis that the facts of the case of changed and that the Supreme Court is not positioned to make an initial ruling based upon those facts.

December 22:
 * Congress passes 2011 Defense Authorization Bill with prohibition of using any DOD funds for the transfer of any prisoners from Guantanamo Bay to the U.S. for any reason.

2011
February 16:
 * Lawsuit by Jose Padilla against Gates and Rumsfeld thrown out in federal court.

March 06: March 15:
 * President Obama signs executive order allowing:
 * The resumption of military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay
 * Review within one year by a Combatant Status Review Tribunal of all prisoners held in Guantanamo Bay, with subsequent review every three years to determine if each prisoner:
 * Remains a threat, or
 * Should be scheduled for a military trial, or
 * Should be released
 * Latif v. Obama argued before D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.

April 04: October 14:
 * Supreme Court declines to hear Al Odah v. U.S. and Awad v Obama, et al. challenging the use of classified, "unsworn statements" in habeas hearings and CSRTs. This lets stand rulings by the D.C. Circuit allowing their use.
 * D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals rules in Latif v. Obama that XXXXX.

2012
11 June:
 * Supreme Court declines to hear appeals by Latif, Padilla and others.

Federal Appellate Court
4th Cir. 02-6827 - Opinion

4th Cir. 02-6890 - Opinion

4th Cir. 02-7338 - Opinion

4th Cir. 02-7338R1 - Opinion

4th Cir. 03-4452 - Opinion

4th Cir. 02-7338R2 - Opinion