In recent weeks, a dispute has developed between the Obama Administration and lawyers representing detainees housed at the U.S. facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In court filings, the government suggested that, once a habeas corpus case has terminated adversely to a detainee, the detainee's lawyers may no longer access classified information or meet with their clients on the same terms that were allowed during the proceedings. Though the district court summarily rejected the government's position, this seemingly minor dispute is just the tip of the iceberg. As Guantanamo detainees' first round of habeas cases come to an end, and as the U.S military deployment in Afghanistan reaches its denouement, the courts will have to address the much bigger issue of whether Boumediene v. Bush granted rights to Guantanamo detainees that have now expired.
Volume 161 Issue 1 2012 Essay