{"id":54334,"date":"2016-09-30T11:27:00","date_gmt":"2016-09-30T16:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-legal\/supreme\/legal-commentary\/what-boumediene-means.html"},"modified":"2016-09-30T11:27:00","modified_gmt":"2016-09-30T16:27:00","slug":"what-boumediene-means","status":"publish","type":"supreme","link":"https:\/\/supreme.findlaw.com\/legal-commentary\/what-boumediene-means.html","title":{"rendered":"What Boumediene Means"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7  fl-block-columns fl-sectionWithSidebar fl-container fl-flex fl-flex-wrap fl-gap30\">\n    \n    <div class=\"fl-page-articles   fl-block-column fl-section-main fl-section-main-full-width\">\n        <div class=\"yui-g\" id=\"leftcol-module\">\n      <!-- Right Line of Links Section -->\n      <!-- BEGIN PICTURE INSERTION -->\n      <!-- BEGIN TITLE AND AUTHOR INSERTION -->\n      <table>\n        <tr>\n\n          <td width=\"100\" rowspan=\"3\" class=\"wiauthor\"><a href=\"\/legal-commentary\/joanne-mariner-archive\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://supreme.findlaw.com/static/f/images\/writ\/joanne.mariner.jpg\" border=\"0\"><\/a><\/td>\n          <td class=\"wititle\"><h1>What <i>Boumediene<\/i> Means<\/h1><\/td>\n        <\/tr>\n        <tr>\n          <td class=\"wiauthor\"><a href=\"\/legal-commentary\/joanne-mariner-archive\" class=\"graybold\"><h2>By JOANNE MARINER <\/h2><br><\/a><\/td>\n        <\/tr>\n        <tr>\n          <td class=\"widate\">Monday, Jun. 16, 2008<\/td>\n\n        <\/tr>\n      <\/table>\n\n<span class=\"smalltext\">\n\n\n <p>Last week\u2019s landmark Supreme  Court ruling in <a href=\"https:\/\/caselaw.findlaw.com\/court\/us-supreme-court\/06-1195-nr1.html\" rel=\"noopener\"><i>Boumediene  v. Bush<\/i><\/a> was a nail in Guantanamo\u2019s coffin.  For the third time in four years, the Supreme Court sent a strong  message that it disagrees with the Bush Administration\u2019s detainee policies.<\/p>\n<\/span>\n<p>The Court\u2019s  70-page opinion, written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, holds that prisoners in US  custody at Guantanamo have the right to challenge their detention via a fair  process in federal court. Specifically,  the decision says that the Military Commissions Act of 2006, which stripped the  detainees of their right of access to the courts, represents an  unconstitutional suspension of the writ of habeas corpus. The ruling overturned  a <a href=\"http:\/\/pacer.cadc.uscourts.gov\/docs\/common\/opinions\/200702\/05-5062b.pdf\" rel=\"noopener\">lower  court decision<\/a> that found that the 2006 law was constitutional.<\/p>\n<span class=\"smalltext\">\n  <!-- START TABLE FOR RELATED -->\n   \n<!-- 300x250 AD -->\n\n  <p>Like the Court\u2019s previous  Guantanamo decisions, the ruling is a victory for individual rights. But viewed as a whole, along with the laws  and executive orders that they address, the decisions also provide an  interesting case study in the checks and balances, highlighting the complex  power relationships among, and decision-making processes of, the three branches  of government.<\/p>\n<\/span>\n<p>The  ruling directly answers several pending questions, and contains clear  implications for others, but there are still other relevant and important  questions that it leaves for the lower courts to decide. <\/p>\n<p>When  reading and thinking about <i>Boumediene<\/i>, here are a few questions worth considering:<\/p>\n<ul>\n  <li>Will the US  government have to close the detention facility at Guantanamo? Or if it does not shut down the facility,  does the ruling at least mean that many prisoners currently held at Guantanamo  will have to be released?<\/li>\n\n  <li>What kind of  procedures are constitutionally required during habeas corpus review of a  detainee\u2019s status as an \u201cenemy combatant,\u201d and what kind of deference (if any),  should a federal court give the military\u2019s previous status determination?<\/li>\n\n  <li>What are the  ruling\u2019s implications for the ongoing military commission proceedings at  Guantanamo?<\/li>\n\n  <li>Will detainees in  US custody in Iraq and Afghanistan, and in secret CIA custody overseas have a  right of access to US federal courts?\u2019<\/li>\n  <li>What are the  ruling\u2019s implications for possible preventive detention legislation (to allow  the continued detention of suspected terrorists without charge, but under a  \u201cfuture dangerousness\u201d rationale as opposed to an \u201cenemy combatant\u201d rationale)?<\/li>\n\n  <li>What does the  Supreme Court think of the so-called Global War on Terror (GWOT)?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> I\u2019ll briefly examine some of these questions below.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Guantanamo\u2019s Future<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The <i>Boumediene<\/i> ruling does not directly require the government to  release the prisoners at Guant\u00e1namo, or even to transfer them elsewhere. In  fact, there\u2019s language in Justice Kennedy\u2019s opinion that could be understood as  legitimating the long-term detention of enemy combatants as part of the  so-called war on terror, as long as the government provides a fair process for  such persons to challenge their detention.<\/p>\n<p>Yet,  importantly, by saying that Guantanamo is no longer a law-free zone, the ruling  strips Guantanamo of its main reason to exist. The reason the administration chose  to send detainees to Guantanamo in 2002 was so that it could hold them without  lawyers and access to the courts. (See, for example, the memorandum from  Patrick F. Philbin and John Yoo of the Office of Legal Counsel of the  Department of Justice, dated December 28, 2001, which Justice Antonin Scalia  cites in his dissent.)<\/p>\n<p>With  the Court\u2019s ruling in <i>Boumediene<\/i>, detention at Guantanamo is, in terms of detainees\u2019  legal rights, functionally equivalent to detention on US soil. The only remaining incentives that the  administration has for keeping people there, as opposed to moving them to some  prison in the US, are that the cells are available (having cost millions of  dollars to build), and there are no neighbors or local communities to complain.  (While the Cuban government is not happy about the detentions at Guantanamo,  the US government has never taken its concerns into account.)<\/p>\n<p> Whether the <i>Boumediene<\/i> ruling will result in large numbers of detainees  being released from Guantanamo depends on whether the administration actually  has evidence to justify these detentions, and whether its definition of enemy  combatant is found to be constitutionally sound. The ruling will no doubt lead to some  releases, but without access to more information it is difficult to say how  many.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Due Process Requirements<\/strong><\/p>\n<p> In holding that the procedural protections presently  afforded detainees during status review proceedings are not an adequate and  effective substitute for habeas corpus, the Court did not explain exactly what  a procedurally sound review process would look like, but it did give some  indication of its views on this important issue.<\/p>\n<p>A  key issue that the Court emphasized was the need for detainees to be able to  present relevant exculpatory evidence that was not made part of the record of  earlier proceedings. It also stated that  the reviewing court would have to have \u201csome authority to assess the  sufficiency of the Government\u2019s evidence against the detainee.\u201d <\/p>\n<p> The Court also emphasized, however, that habeas corpus  proceedings \u201cneed not resemble a criminal trial\u201d\u2014that, in other words, their  procedural protections could fall short of what is required to protect the  rights of criminal defendants. A crucial  question, on this point, is whether secret evidence (which is not permitted in  criminal proceedings) might be used to justify a person\u2019s detention, and might  remain hidden from the detainee even during habeas review. <\/p>\n<p>Although  the Court acknowledged that the use of classified evidence is an obstacle to  the detainee\u2019s ability to rebut the factual basis for his detention, it did not  indicate that reliance on such evidence would, in the end, be deemed  objectionable. Indeed, if anything, it  suggested the opposite: Citing <a href=\"https:\/\/caselaw.findlaw.com\/court\/us-supreme-court\/345\/1.html\" rel=\"noopener\">the  1953 case<\/a> that formally recognized the state secrets privilege, the Court  emphasized that \u201cthe Government has a legitimate interest in protecting sources  and methods of intelligence gathering.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Military Commissions<\/strong><\/p>\n<p> The Supreme Court\u2019s opinion in <i>Boumediene<\/i> never specifically mentions the ongoing military  commission proceedings at Guantanamo, by which 19 defendants are currently  facing charges. The ruling does,  however, have important implications for the viability of the commissions  process.<\/p>\n<p>First,  and most basically, military commissions only have jurisdiction over unlawful  enemy combatants, and the Court ruled that detainees can challenge their status  as enemy combatants in federal court. At  a minimum, therefore, any detainee whom the federal courts find not to be an  enemy combatant will not be able to be tried by a commission.<\/p>\n<p>Equally  crucially, the court held that detainees at Guantanamo enjoy constitutional  protections, a claim that both the administration and military commission  judges have rejected. (Indeed, last year  the judge in the Omar Khadr case issued an order explicitly prohibiting the  defense and prosecution from making constitutional arguments with regard to  whether military commissions had jurisdiction over the case.) <\/p>\n<p>While  the Court did not address whether the detainees would enjoy the full range of  constitutional protections, its ruling did open the door to the assertion of  constitutional claims. It will strengthen arguments made by defendants in  military commission proceedings regarding, for example, the ex post facto  nature of some of the charges against them, and regarding the procedural  shortcomings of the military commissions process.<\/p>\n<p><strong>And the War on Terror?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In  contrast to Justice O\u2019Connor\u2019s cautious 2004 opinion in <i>Hamdi v. Rumsfeld<\/i> (which involved a plaintiff who was captured on a  traditional battlefield in Afghanistan, and which repeatedly emphasizes the  \u201cnarrow circumstances\u201d at issue), Justice Kennedy\u2019s opinion in Boumediene seems  willing to adopt the administration\u2019s notion of a War on Terror (or, more  precisely, a global conflict between the United States and Al Qaeda). <\/p>\n<p>Unlike  Hamdi, the lead Bosnian-Algerian plaintiffs in <i>Boumediene<\/i> were found in a decidedly non-war-time situation:  they were arrested in Bosnia by Bosnian police, and later handed over to the  US. Yet the Court seems to accept, at  least as a prima facie matter, that they might still be considered combatants. It also makes a couple of references to the  military conflict at issue in the case, at one point suggesting that it began  on September 11, 2001.<\/p>\n<p>On  this question, it is instructive to read Justice Scalia\u2019s amazingly vociferous  dissent. Scalia\u2014who, in this 5-4 ruling,  is only a vote away from being in the majority\u2014appears to date America\u2019s \u201cwar  with radical Islamists\u201d back to 1983.  (As he describes it, \u201cThe enemy began by killing Americans and American  allies abroad: 241 at the Marine barracks in Lebanon &#8230;\u201d) While Justice Thomas, in <a href=\"https:\/\/caselaw.findlaw.com\/court\/us-supreme-court\/548\/557.html\" rel=\"noopener\">the  dissent he penned in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld<\/a>, dated the war on terror back to  1996 (which coincides with the administration&#8217;s view, judging from military  commission charges that have been brought), 1983 is a new record.<\/p>\n<p>Justice  Scalia\u2019s broad reference to radical Islamists, rather than Al Qaeda  specifically, is also no accident, given that the 1983 attack on the Marine  barracks in Lebanon is generally attributed to Hezbollah.<\/p>\n<p> What is important about the Court\u2019s opinion, at any  rate\u2014and which makes the most meaningful contrast with Scalia\u2019s views\u2014is that  the Court is not so mesmerized by the idea of war that it is willing to throw  due process out the window. In this way,  the Court\u2019s opinion is reminiscent of the 2006 ruling by the Israeli Supreme  Court in the targeted killing case. <\/p>\n<p>In  both cases, the courts have tried to emphasize that even wars have rules.<\/p>\n<hr size=\"1\">\n<p class=\"authorfoot\">\n\n<!-- BEGIN AUTHORS FOOTNOTE -->\n<a name=\"bio\"><\/a>\nJoanne Mariner is an attorney at Human Rights Watch. <br>\n<br>\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n    <\/div><div class=\"was-this-helpful\">\n    <div\n            class=\"was-this-helpful__question-container\"\n            aria-labelledby=\"was-this-helpful__question\"\n            role=\"group\"\n    >\n        <span\n                id=\"was-this-helpful__question\"\n                class=\"was-this-helpful__question fl-text-lg-bold\"\n        >Was this helpful?<\/span>\n        <button\n                class=\"was-this-helpful__button fl-text-sm\"\n                aria-label=\"Yes\"\n                value=\"yes\"\n        >\n            <span class=\"was-this-helpful__button-text fl-text-bold\">Yes<\/span>\n            <i class=\"was-this-helpful__button-icon\">\n                <svg width=\"22\" height=\"22\" viewBox=\"0 0 22 22\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n                    <g id=\"thumbs-up\" clip-path=\"url(#clip0_604_3418)\">\n                        <path id=\"Vector\"\n                              d=\"M6 21H3C2.46957 21 1.96086 20.7893 1.58579 20.4142C1.21071 20.0391 1 19.5304 1 19V12C1 11.4696 1.21071 10.9609 1.58579 10.5858C1.96086 10.2107 2.46957 10 3 10H6M13 8V4C13 3.20435 12.6839 2.44129 12.1213 1.87868C11.5587 1.31607 10.7956 1 10 1L6 10V21H17.28C17.7623 21.0055 18.2304 20.8364 18.5979 20.524C18.9654 20.2116 19.2077 19.7769 19.28 19.3L20.66 10.3C20.7035 10.0134 20.6842 9.72068 20.6033 9.44225C20.5225 9.16382 20.3821 8.90629 20.1919 8.68751C20.0016 8.46873 19.7661 8.29393 19.5016 8.17522C19.2371 8.0565 18.9499 7.99672 18.66 8H13Z\"\n                              stroke=\"#666666\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\n                              stroke-linejoin=\"round\"><\/path>\n                    <\/g>\n                    <defs>\n                        <clipPath id=\"clip0_604_3418\">\n                            <rect width=\"22\" height=\"22\" fill=\"white\"><\/rect>\n                        <\/clipPath>\n                    <\/defs>\n                <\/svg>\n            <\/i>\n        <\/button>\n        <button\n                class=\"was-this-helpful__button fl-text-sm\"\n                aria-label=\"No\"\n                value=\"no\"\n        >\n            <span class=\"was-this-helpful__button-text fl-text-bold\">No<\/span>\n            <i class=\"was-this-helpful__button-icon\">\n                <svg width=\"22\" height=\"22\" viewBox=\"0 0 22 22\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n                    <g id=\"thumbs-down\" clip-path=\"url(#clip0_604_3423)\">\n                        <path id=\"Vector\"\n                              d=\"M16 0.999995H18.67C19.236 0.989986 19.7859 1.18813 20.2154 1.55681C20.645 1.9255 20.9242 2.43905 21 3V10C20.9242 10.5609 20.645 11.0745 20.2154 11.4432C19.7859 11.8119 19.236 12.01 18.67 12H16M9.00003 14V18C9.00003 18.7956 9.3161 19.5587 9.87871 20.1213C10.4413 20.6839 11.2044 21 12 21L16 12V0.999995H4.72003C4.2377 0.994543 3.76965 1.16359 3.40212 1.47599C3.0346 1.78839 2.79235 2.22309 2.72003 2.7L1.34003 11.7C1.29652 11.9866 1.31586 12.2793 1.39669 12.5577C1.47753 12.8362 1.61793 13.0937 1.80817 13.3125C1.99842 13.5313 2.23395 13.7061 2.49846 13.8248C2.76297 13.9435 3.05012 14.0033 3.34003 14H9.00003Z\"\n                              stroke=\"#666666\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"\/>\n                    <\/g>\n                    <defs>\n                        <clipPath id=\"clip0_604_3423\">\n                            <rect width=\"22\" height=\"22\" fill=\"white\"\/>\n                        <\/clipPath>\n                    <\/defs>\n                <\/svg>\n            <\/i>\n        <\/button>\n    <\/div>\n    <span class=\"was-this-helpful__taken-action fl-text-sm-bold\"><\/span>\n    <div class=\"was-this-helpful__feedback-container\">\n        <div class=\"was-this-helpful__choose-option-message\" role=\"status\">\n            <p class=\"was-this-helpful__choose-option-message-text\"><\/p>\n        <\/div>\n        <form class=\"was-this-helpful__feedback-form\">\n            <div class=\"was-this-helpful__feedback was-this-helpful__feedback--positive\">\n                <fieldset>\n                    <legend class=\"was-this-helpful__feedback-form-title\" tabindex=\"0\">Why was this helpful?<\/legend>\n                    <div class=\"fl-radio-button-field fl-flex was-this-helpful__feedback-form-title\">\n                        <input\n                                id=\"was-this-helpful__radio-button--understandable\"\n                                class=\"fl-radio-button-field-input\"\n                                type=\"radio\"\n                                name=\"positive-feedback\"\n                                value=\"Easy to understand\"\n                        >\n                        <label\n                                class=\"fl-radio-button-field-label fl-text-sm was-this-helpful__radio-label\"\n                                for=\"was-this-helpful__radio-button--understandable\"\n                        >Easy to understand<\/label>\n                    <\/div>\n                    <div class=\"fl-radio-button-field fl-flex was-this-helpful__feedback-form-title\">\n                        <input\n                                id=\"was-this-helpful__radio-button--solved-problem\"\n                                class=\"fl-radio-button-field-input\"\n                                type=\"radio\"\n                                name=\"positive-feedback\"\n                                value=\"Solved my problem\"\n                        >\n                        <label\n                                class=\"fl-radio-button-field-label fl-text-sm was-this-helpful__radio-label\"\n                                for=\"was-this-helpful__radio-button--solved-problem\"\n                        >Solved my problem<\/label>\n                    <\/div>\n                    <div class=\"fl-radio-button-field fl-flex was-this-helpful__feedback-form-title\">\n                        <input\n                                id=\"was-this-helpful__radio-button--other\"\n                                class=\"fl-radio-button-field-input\"\n                                type=\"radio\"\n                                name=\"positive-feedback\"\n                                value=\"Other\"\n                        >\n                        <label\n                                class=\"fl-radio-button-field-label fl-text-sm was-this-helpful__radio-label\"\n                                for=\"was-this-helpful__radio-button--other\"\n                        >Other<\/label>\n                    <\/div>\n                <\/fieldset>\n            <\/div>\n            <div class=\"was-this-helpful__feedback was-this-helpful__feedback--negative\">\n                <fieldset>\n                    <legend class=\"was-this-helpful__feedback-form-title\" tabindex=\"0\">Why was this not helpful?<\/legend>\n                    <div class=\"was-this-helpful__choose-option-message\" role=\"status\">\n                        <p class=\"was-this-helpful__choose-option-message-text\"><\/p>\n                    <\/div>\n                    <div class=\"fl-radio-button-field fl-flex was-this-helpful__feedback-form-title\">\n                        <input\n                                id=\"was-this-helpful__radio-button--missing-info\"\n                                class=\"fl-radio-button-field-input\"\n                                type=\"radio\"\n                                name=\"negative-feedback\"\n                                value=\"Missing Information\"\n                        >\n                        <label\n                                class=\"fl-radio-button-field-label fl-text-sm was-this-helpful__radio-label\"\n                                for=\"was-this-helpful__radio-button--missing-info\"\n                        >Missing the information I need<\/label>\n                    <\/div>\n                    <div class=\"fl-radio-button-field fl-flex was-this-helpful__feedback-form-title\">\n                        <input\n                                id=\"was-this-helpful__radio-button--complicated\"\n                                class=\"fl-radio-button-field-input\"\n                                type=\"radio\"\n                                name=\"negative-feedback\"\n                                value=\"Too complicated\"\n                        >\n                        <label\n                                class=\"fl-radio-button-field-label fl-text-sm was-this-helpful__radio-label\"\n                                for=\"was-this-helpful__radio-button--complicated\"\n                        >Too complicated \/ too many steps<\/label>\n                    <\/div>\n                    <div class=\"fl-radio-button-field fl-flex was-this-helpful__feedback-form-title\">\n                        <input\n                                id=\"was-this-helpful__radio-button--dated\"\n                                class=\"fl-radio-button-field-input\"\n                                type=\"radio\"\n                                name=\"negative-feedback\"\n                                value=\"Out of date\"\n                        >\n                        <label\n                                class=\"fl-radio-button-field-label fl-text-sm was-this-helpful__radio-label\"\n                                for=\"was-this-helpful__radio-button--dated\"\n                        >Out of date<\/label>\n                    <\/div>\n                    <div class=\"fl-radio-button-field fl-flex was-this-helpful__feedback-form-title\">\n                        <input\n                                id=\"was-this-helpful__radio-button--negative-other\"\n                                class=\"fl-radio-button-field-input\"\n                                type=\"radio\"\n                                name=\"negative-feedback\"\n                                value=\"Other\"\n                        >\n                        <label\n                                class=\"fl-radio-button-field-label fl-text-sm was-this-helpful__radio-label\"\n                                for=\"was-this-helpful__radio-button--negative-other\"\n                        >Other<\/label>\n                    <\/div>\n                <\/fieldset>\n            <\/div>\n            <div class=\"was-this-helpful__form-buttons-container\">\n                <button\n                    class=\"was-this-helpful__feedback-button was-this-helpful__feedback-button--positive at-feedback-submit fl-button secondary\"\n                    type=\"submit\"\n                >\n                    <span class=\"fl-button-content\">Submit<\/span>\n                    <i\n                        class=\"fa fa-angle-right medium\"\n                        aria-hidden=\"true\"\n                    ><\/i>\n                <\/button>\n                <button\n                    class=\"was-this-helpful__feedback-button was-this-helpful__feedback-button--cancel fl-button primary disabled\"\n                    type=\"reset\"\n                >\n                    <span class=\"fl-button-content\">Cancel<\/span>\n                    <i\n                        class=\"fa fa-times-circle medium\"\n                        aria-hidden=\"true\"\n                    ><\/i>\n                <\/button>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/form>\n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"was-this-helpful__thank-you-message\" role=\"status\">\n        <i class=\"was-this-helpful__thank-you-message-icon fa fa-check\"><\/i>\n        <p class=\"was-this-helpful__thank-you-message-text\" aria-live=\"polite\"><\/p>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"fl-block-column fl-section-sidebar\">\n        \n    <\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"parent":49876,"menu_order":0,"template":"app\/Http\/Controllers\/Templates\/ArticlePageController.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_stopmodifiedupdate":false,"_modified_date":"","_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false},"class_list":["post-54334","supreme","type-supreme","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/supreme.findlaw.com\/legal-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/supreme\/54334","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/supreme.findlaw.com\/legal-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/supreme"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/supreme.findlaw.com\/legal-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/supreme"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/supreme.findlaw.com\/legal-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/supreme\/49876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/supreme.findlaw.com\/legal-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}